Enforcing antitrust laws against Microsoft has not helped the rest of the computer industry. In fact, it may have hurt. That's the conclusion of UC Davis economists George Bittlingmayer and Thomas Hazlett. In its most recent antitrust suit against the software giant, the U.S. Department of Justice claims that Microsoft's dominant market position and aggressive business practices have hampered the computer industry, and, ultimately, harmed consumers. The professors tested that proposition in a study of the stock prices of 159 other computer companies from 1991 to 1997. The study -- believed to be unusual in that it evaluates the actual effects of antitrust policy as opposed to its intended consequences -- will be presented to the Economics Analysis Group of the Department of Justice Wednesday, June 24. Bittlingmayer and Hazlett found that investors in those companies reacted negatively to news that antitrust enforcement actions were being brought against Microsoft and responded positively to news that antitrust actions were being withdrawn. Major computer companies such as Compaq and Intel would benefit directly and indirectly from the more efficient software industry promised by the Department of Justice, Hazlett says. He adds, however, that the negative reaction to the antitrust enforcement efforts indicates that financial investors don't believe such policies benefit customers. "Investors who put their own money at risk in computer companies have not welcomed the federal government's actions against Microsoft," says Bittlingmayer. The full text of the study is available at .