1. Role of Government

2. Antitrust Legislation Trusts- legally formed combinations of corporations

3. The Sherman AntiTrust First significant law against monopolies Set broad foundations for maintaining competition

4. The Clayton Anti Trust Act Gave the government greater power against monopolies The act outlawed price discrimination- charging different prices for different people.

5. Robinson-Patman Act Strengthened the Clayton Act

6. Federal Regulatory Agencies

7. The Federal Trade Commission Act Gave the government the power of cease and desist orders. Cease and desist Order- an FTC ruling requiring a company to stop an unfair business practice, such as price fixing

8. FDA Food and Drug Administration- enforces purity, labeling, and effectiveness of foods, drugs, and cosmetics

9. FTC Federal Trade Commission- enforces antitrust laws, price fixing, unfair competition

10. FCC Federal Communications Commission – regulates radio, television, telephone and telegraph rates and services

11. SEC Securities and Exchange Commission- regulates and supervises the sale of securities (stocks)

12. NLRB National Labor Relations Board- supervises federal labor relation laws

13. FAA Federal Aviation Administration- supervises the airline industry

14. EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission- investigates charges of discrimination by employers and unions

15. EPA Environmental Protection Agency- protects the environment

16. OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration- investigates accidents at the workplace, enforces safety laws

17. CPSC Consumer Product Safety Commission- developed standards of safety for consumer goods.

18. NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission- regulates the use of civilian use of nuclear materials

19. FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission- supervises the energy industry

20. Internalizing Externalities Government uses the tax system to lessen negative externalities in the economy. Example- Government taxes polluters, gives tax relief to companies that clean the environment.

21. Public Disclosures Government forces companies to reveal information to the public

22. Indirect Disclosures Government works indirectly to improve the quality of information