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The overriding theme of this thesis concerns the level of antitrust enforcement within the U.S. airline industry by the agencies entrusted with this task. / After a brief Introduction, Chapter I will examine whether concentration within the U.S. airline industry is a natural phenomenon or an ordinary monopoly/oligopoly resulting from the behaviour of competitors. In concluding that a natural monopoly/oligopoly does not exist, Chapter II will analyse the policy being antitrust enforcement in the industry. / Chapter III will then use the implementation of S 408 of the Federal Aviation Act (FAA) by the Department of Transportation (DOT) as an example of such a policy. Finally, the remaining chapters are dedicated to an analysis of the CRS industry. By using this industry as an example, the writer will suggest that, by removing barriers to entry through aggressive use of S 411 of the FAA, the future may see new entrants enter the market. Emphasis will be placed on the attitude of the DOT in this regard.

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The purpose of this study is to analyze the possibility of political influence upon the Department of Justice merger decisions within the brewing industry. Political preference was measured by the congressional ratings of a liberal political action committee, The Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), thus giving a liberalness score. Regressions including the merger guideline variables and the political preference measurement were estimated with a logit model. After running numerous regressions, the addition of the political preference variable resulted in insignificance for otherwise significant 1968 and 1982 guidelines variables. These results may indicate an inability of the model to differentiate between political pressure on antitrust enforcement during the establishment of the 1968 and 1982 guidelines, or beyond the establishment of the guidelines. However, the Chair of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, the oversight committee for the Department of Justice, is found to be the most significant with liberalness having a positive impact upon the probability of DOJ merger litigation. / Graduation date: 1995

This thesis seeks to contribute to solving the debate about the framework of rules and institutions applicable to public utility sectors, by adopting both economic theories, such as natural monopoly, network effects, and public goods, and practical analysis of the telecommunications sectors for both Australia and the United States. Governments must reevaluate the framework regulating public utility sectors whenever rapid technological advancements occur. This thesis argues that the antitrust authority better enforces competition rules, and that the sector-specific authority better enforces technical and universal service rules. The justification of the special competition rule concerning bottleneck facilities access should be limited. As for the universal service scheme, the enforcer should ensure competitive neutrality and adopt pro-competitive instruments. This framework would allow for a more market-oriented and economy-wide regulatory administration, as well as enforcement of the universal service scheme based on a more accurate reflection of the fundamental values of citizens.

The overall purpose of this study was to evaluate the current status of the Sherman Act's application to the professions, with emphasis on the accounting profession. This was further stated as two purposes. 1. The primary purpose was to interpret the historical development and current status of the most important defenses used in the courts by the professions and professionals against alleged violations of the Sherman Act. 2. The second purpose was to evaluate the relative importance of variables, including the defenses used, that have affected the outcomes of court cases involving alleged violations of the Sherman Act.

The international civil aviation system is currently going through a transitional phase. Deregulation and liberalization of air transport services and privatisation of certain airlines have contributed to the modification of the aviation landscape. In this context, airline alliances play a crucial role. Both the US and EC authorities have been supportive of airline alliances because they believe that alliances have the potential to increase competition and to provide the consumers with benefits. / The first part of this thesis intends to provide economic and historical background to highlight the reasons for the multiplication of alliances, as well as the political and economic circumstances under which competition authorities assess alliances. The second part of this thesis is meant to determine which legal regime is applied to transatlantic alliances, and whether alliances are assessed like agreements among companies in any other business sector. The third part focuses more specifically on the antitrust control of the Sky Team alliance which occurs in the context of the EU/US Open skies agreement.

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The US airline industry is going through a period of consolidation through mergers between leading airlines. A number of recent mergers have been approved by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) based on the presence of Southwest Airlines in merger-affected markets. In doing so, the DOJ makes a key assumption that Southwest is unresponsive to the reduced competition when its competitors merge. We find that Southwest raised fares more in markets where Delta/Northwest and US/America-West used to operate jointly between 2005-2010. However, Southwest's fares either decreased or rose by less if facing direct or adjacent competition from a low-cost carrier (LCC). Furthermore, Southwest is now merging with AirTran Airways, its biggest LCC competitor. This implies that the DOJ should not rely on Southwest Airlines as a post-merger deterrent to fare increases. / Graduation date: 2012