21201526 - INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS

EDUCATIONAL GOALS AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

Knowledge and understanding
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a deeper understanding of markets functioning and regulation from an economic perspective in order to stimulate critical understanding of policy implications from the public side and strategic behaviour from the firms’ side.
Applying knowledge and understanding
Acquired knowledge and skills will enable students to understand and analyse markets functioning within the real economic context with a particular focus on non competitive markets: mainly monopolistic and oligopolistic markets.
Making judgements
The understanding of economic agents’ decision making processes and of non competitive markets’ functioning will enable students to critically analyse the economic reality and the policy makers intervention in terms of markets regulation (deregulation) ad antitrust.
Communication skills
The structure of course and final exam is designed to enable students to acquire and apply all the languages of the discipline (descriptive, graphical and analytical) in order learn how discuss appropriately microeconomic topics with specialist and non specialist speakers.
Learning skills
Students will deal with theoretical and case study of the subject in order to acquire methods of analysis which allow autonomous investigation.

Curriculum

teacher profile | teaching materials

Programme

1. Foundamentals
a. Introduction to industrial organization (cap.1)
b. Basics of microeconomics (cap.2)
c. Market structure and market power (cap.3)
d. Technology and production costs (cap.4)

2. Monopoly power
a. Price discrimination (capp. 5 e 6)
b. Variety and product quality in monopolistic markets (cap. 7)

3. Oligopoly and strategic interaction
a. Cournot competition (cap. 8)
b. Price competition (cap. 9)

4. Anticompetitive strategies
a. Predatory behaviour (cap.12)
b. Collusion and repeated games (cap. 13)

5. Contractual relationships among firms
a. Mergers (cap. 15)
b. Vertical restrictions (cap. 16)

6. Non-price competition
a. Advertising, market power, competition and information (cap. 17)
b. Research and development and patents (cap. 18)


Core Documentation

Textbook: Lynne Pepall, Daniel J. Richards, George Norman e Giacomo Calzolari "Organizzazione Industriale" terza edizione, Mc Graw Hill Education

Type of delivery of the course

Traditional lectures.

Type of evaluation

written exam composed of two open questions.

teacher profile | teaching materials

Programme

1. Foundamentals
a. Introduction to industrial organization (cap.1)
b. Basics of microeconomics (cap.2)
c. Market structure and market power (cap.3)
d. Technology and production costs (cap.4)

2. Monopoly power
a. Price discrimination (capp. 5 e 6)
b. Variety and product quality in monopolistic markets (cap. 7)

3. Oligopoly and strategic interaction
a. Cournot competition (cap. 8)
b. Price competition (cap. 9)

4. Anticompetitive strategies
a. Predatory behaviour (cap.12)
b. Collusion and repeated games (cap. 13)

5. Contractual relationships among firms
a. Mergers (cap. 15)
b. Vertical restrictions (cap. 16)

6. Non-price competition
a. Advertising, market power, competition and information (cap. 17)
b. Research and development and patents (cap. 18)


Core Documentation

Textbook: Lynne Pepall, Daniel J. Richards, George Norman e Giacomo Calzolari "Organizzazione Industriale" terza edizione, Mc Graw Hill Education

Type of delivery of the course

Traditional lectures.

Type of evaluation

written exam composed of two open questions.