Special-interest-group perspective before and after the Clayton and Federal Trade Commission Acts

The performance of prices and output is explored for the period 1904-1925, the 11 years before and after passage of the Clayton and Federal Trade Commission Acts (hereinafter Clayton-FTC Acts) in the USA in 1914, and compared with performance for 1890-1901, the 11-year period prior to and following the passage of the Sherman Act. While proponents of the Sherman Act and the Clayton-FTC Acts claim that they serve the public interest, the empirical results suggests that they appear as susceptible to the influence of special-interest groups as any other public policy.