Advanced Industrial Organization
Code
2179
Academic unit
null
Department
null
Credits
3,5
Teacher in charge
Steffen Hoernig
Teaching language
Objectives
The objective of this course is to cover, at an advanced level, theoretically and practically important issues in the study of imperfectly competitive markets, introducing the student to the relevant academic literature and modelling tools.
Prerequisites
Subject matter
Week 1: Introduction:
Product differentiation;
Representative consumer and location models;
Vertical differentiation;
Week 2: Strategic behaviour:
Strategic complements and substitutes;
Animal terminology;
Strategic delegation;
Week 3: Switching and search costs:
Equilibrium price level and dispersion;
Competitive effects;
Week 4: Network effects:
Network competition and compatibility;
Network interconnection;
Week 5: Two-sided markets:
Pricing in two-sided markets;
Competitive bottlenecks and interchange fees;
Week 6: Bundling:
Pure and mixed bundling;
Bundling competition.
Bibliography
This course is based on academic articles which will be provided via the online platform.
Background readings:
Tirole Jean. The Theory of Industrial Organization. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1988.
Paul Belleflamme & Martin Peitz, Industrial Organization: Markets and Strategies,2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Resources
Moodle page, with news and course materials.
Teaching method
This course is based on reading and discussing important classic and recent academic articles on the topics covered. Both an individual and a group assignment will give the students the opportunity to deepen their involvement with the topics of the course.
Evaluation method
Mandatory final exam: 50%, minimum grade 9.0 Class participation: 10%
One group assignment: 20% (due 23/02)
Each group of 3-4 students prepares a referee report on some paper proposed by the course instructor.
One individual assignment: 20% (due 14/03)
An assignment containing theory and practical applications.