ECON 461
Industrial Organization
- Catalog Entry
Economics 461. Industrial Organization
Three Hours Lecture (3).
Prerequisite: ECON 105 and junior or senior standing.
Semester offered: Fall or Spring
Investigates the relationships among market structures, market conduct and market performance. Examines the rationale for government intervention into or regulation of different industries.
- Detailed Description of Content of the Course
The course focuses on the effects of market power in the market. It shows that market power has adverse effects upon the economic welfare of the society. Consequently, government intervention that attempts to control the effects of market power is justified. The forms of government controls are studied. The course also studies the determinants of the structure of the firm that give rise to market power, and the determinants of the market structure. Finally the course studies the interaction of industrial organization with international trade and its effects upon the performance of the macroeconomy.
Topic Outline
1. Microeconomic Theory and Public Policy
2. Industrial Structure and Its Analysis
3. Antitrust in Theory and Practice
4. Regulation and Business Practices
5. Regulatory Reform
- Detailed Description of Conduct of the Course
The following teaching strategies will be employed:
Lecture, discussion, and homework problems. Students have to write and present a paper analyzing the market structure of one of the nation's industries.
- Goals and Objectives of the Course
At the end of the course, students should know:
1. The definition and measure of market power.
2. The types of market structure.
3. The welfare effects of market power.
4. The theory and evidence about the conduct in markets with significant concentration of market power.
5. The determinants of the market structure.
6. The determinants of the firm's structure.
7. The public policy towards market structure and antitrust legislation.
8. The relation between international trade and market performance.
9. The effect of market pricing upon the price level behavior.
- Assessment Measures
- Test I 200 Points
- Test II 200 Points
- Homeworks 100 Points
- Paper 200 Points
- Presentation 50 Points
- Final exam 250 Points
Grades are assigned according to the customary 10-point scale.
- Other Course Information
- Review and Approval
Date Action Reviewed by
December 2004 Made alterations to syllabus N. Hashemzadeh, Chair |