Economics 5300 - Industrial Organization and Game Theory (Fall 2016)

In this course we cover issues the microeconomics of firm behavior and market structure in detail. Game theory is used as the unifying concept for analyzing imperfectly competitive markets. The objective of this course is to expose students to the core theory of industrial organization. The course should help students to depend their understanding of the economics of firm behavior and the market structure, and develop analytical skills necessary to understand IO theory and apply it to real-world issues. The course will be useful for students entering the world of business/policy or considering further study of economics at the graduate level.A complete syllabus for the class is here.

Lecture Notes

Topic 01: Course Outline

Topic 02: Production

Topic 03: Costs

Topic 04: Perfect Competition

Topic 05: Monopoly

Topic 06: Measuring Market Structure and Power

Topic 07: Group Pricing

Topic 08: Personalized Pricing

Topic 09: Menu Pricing

Topic 10: Bundling

Topic 11: More on Bundling

Topic 12: Dominant Firms

Topic 13: Static Games

Topic 14: Cournot Oligopoly

Topic 15: Cournot Extensions

Topic 16: Bertrand Oligopoly

Topic 17: Bertrand Oligopoly Extensions

Topic 18: Dynamic Games

Topic 19: Stackelberg Oligopoly

Topic 20: Price Leadership

Topic 21: Patents

Topic 22: Regulating Monopoly

Assignments

Assignment 01: Due date is Thursday September 22 in class.

Assignment 02: Due date is Tuesday October 11 in class.

Assignment 03: Due date is Thursday October 27 in class.

Assignment 04: Due date is Tuesday November 15 in class.

Assignment 05: Due date is Tuesday November 29 in class.

Assignment 06: Due no later than Friday December 9.

Miscellaneous

Worksheet for Topic 06

Worksheet for Topic 09

Announcements

August 26: First class is on Tuesday August 30 at 1:30 in Huntsman Hall 180. See you there.

August 31: From Thursday our classroom has been switched to Eccles Business Building room 216.

September 28: Your first midterm is scheduled for Thursday October 6, in class. To help you prepare, here are four practice questions from previous midterm examinations. Please do not ask for solutions, the questions and how to best answer them, are for you to ponder. On Tuesday October 4 there will not be a class. You should use that time to prepare for the midterm.

November 23: Your second midterm is scheduled for Thursday December 1, in class. To help you prepare, here are four practice questions from previous midterm examinations. Please do not ask for solutions, the questions and how to best answer them, are for you to ponder. Enjoy your Thanksgiving break.