Codes of Fair Competition

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CODES OF FAIR COMPETITION

CODES OF FAIR COMPETITION. Passed amidst spiraling deflation and unemployment, the National Industrial Recovery Act of 16 June 1933 set sweeping guide-lines—including production restrictions, minimum wages, and working conditions—to limit competition and foster a spirit of teamwork among industry rivals. Industry representatives helped draft the standards, which were enforced by the National Recovery Administration (NRA). In exchange for their cooperation, compliant corporations received exemption from antitrust prosecution. Some trade associations used the "fair competition" codes to restrict legitimate competition, however, and after repeated legal challenges, the Supreme Court declared the NRA unconstitutional in 1935.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brand, Donald R. Corporatism and the Rule of Law. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1988.

Hawley, Ellis W. The New Deal and the Problem of Monopoly. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1966.

Romasco, Albert U. The Politics of Recovery. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.

Myron W.Watkins/a. r.

See alsoAntitrust Laws ; Government Regulation of Business .