PhD Theses

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Browsing PhD Theses by Subject "Antitrust law"

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    Fair competition law in relation to price-fixing in Tanzania: evolution and efficacy
    (Unversity of Dar es Salaam, 2014) Michael, Onesmo
    In this Thesis we have traced the development of laws on restraint of trade in relation to price fixing generally from the Roman Period to date and specifically in Tanzania from the pre-colonial society to date. It was found that laws on restraint of trade in relation to price fixing and their enforcement should be understood in the political, economic and historical context in which they are made. It was found that before 1993, Tanzania used price control mechanisms under the various pieces of legislation but after adopting free market policies, Tanzania started to enact laws to prevent anti-competitive practices by ensuring that the free market operates fairly instead of controlling prices directly. We have also reviewed laws on restraint of trade in relation to price fixing in Tanzania and identified areas which must be addressed so as to make the laws effective. It was observed that there is a common tendency of parallelism in prices among sellers and buyers of some goods and services which would not be expected in the prevailing circumstances in the absence of some form of collusion; but FCC has not seriously pursued price-fixers and successfully punished culprits because of some weaknesses in the Fair Competition Act. It was further observed that unlike regulatory authorities which have powers to set price caps, FCC does not set indicative prices. It was pointed out that FCC has not been able to enforce fair competition law because it lacks powers to regulate prices where free competition does not work. We have seen that regulated sectors were facing a similar problem of price fixing in their respective areas but after acquiring powers to impose price caps, they have managed to control price fixing practices. It was recommended that a competition law version particularly that which gives competition authorities in Tanzania an option to intervene by setting price caps where free competition does not work effectively or where tacit collusion is observed may be more suitable in Tanzania.