Knowledge and understanding: the course aims at presenting the advanced microeconomic models in industrial organisation. Industrial organization is essentially a branch of applied microeconomics which seeks to understand the causes and effects of various market structures on pricing and product choices.
The course aims to provide the main tools for analyzing the firm’s behavior with reference to the market structures theory as well as their economic conduct and stretegies.
Applying knowledge and understanding: students will learn to apply economic theory to analyze various industries in the economy. They have to be able to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired to analyse advanced models of theory of the firm and case studies. The student has to understand economic phenomena for analyzing theories and empirical evidence about the organization of firms and industries.
Making judgements: the student will be able to assess the difference of market structures and business practices: strategies and conduct attaining a sufficient degree of independent judgment especially by comparison of proposed case studies.
Communication skills: during the course the student has to improve and develop the knowledge of a technical and economic language to use in an appropriate way as an useful instrument of communication.
Learning skills: the student will be able to understand which theoretical concept is appropriate to deal with specific cases. Verification of the learning skills is carried out both during the course (lectures, exercises) and in the final written test.
*1. Introduction and theory |
Text 1: cap 1 |
*2. The Firm and Costs. |
Text 1: cap 2 |
*3. Competition. |
Text 1: cap 3 |
*4. Monopolies, Monopsonies, and Dominant Firms. |
Text 1: cap 4 |
*5. Cartels. |
Text 1: cap 5 |
*6. Oligopoly. |
Text 1: cap 6 |
*7. Product Differentiation and Monopolistic Competition. |
Text 1: cap 7 |
*8. Industry Structure and Performance. |
Text 1: cap 8 |
*9. Price Discrimination. |
Text 1: cap 9 |
*10. Advanced Topics in Pricing. |
Text 1: cap 10 |
*11. Strategic Behavior. |
Text 1: cap 11 |
*12. Vertical Integration and Vertical Restrictions. |
Text 1: cap 12 |
*13. Information. |
Text 1: cap 13 |
*14. Patents and Technological Change. |
Text 1: cap 14 |
* the main topics mandatory to succeed in the exam
1. W. Dennis W. Carlton – Jeffrey M. Perloff, “Organizzazione industriale”, McGraw-Hill, Milano, 2013, Capp. 1-14. |
2. M. Musumeci (a cura di), “Le politiche industriali di incentivazione. Il caso Sicilia”, Franco Angeli, Milano, 2005 (un capitolo a scelta). |