Instructor: Robin D. Hanson, Asst. Professor, Economics
(rhanson@gmu.edu, http://hanson.gmu.edu)
Office Hours: Officially Monday 10:30-12. But I'm usually in at Carow Hall
10A. Call ahead (703-993-2326) if you want to be sure.
Catalog Entry:
Econ 844 Industrial Organization and Public Policy I (3:3:0). Prerequisite: ECON 611 or permission of instructor. Structure of American industry and underlying determinants. Analysis of structure and conduct on industrial performance in light of theory and empirical evidence. Rational antitrust policy and analysis of impact on structure and performance.Required Texts:
Oz Shy, Industrial Organization, Theory and Applications, MIT Press, ISBN 0-262-69179-5, 1996. (errata)
F.M. Scherer, Industry, Structure, Strategy, and Public Policy, Harper Collins, ISBN 0-673-99289-6, 1996.Optional Texts:
Carl Shapiro, Hal R. Varian, Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy, Harvard Business School Press, ISBN: 087584863X, 1998.
Jean Tirole, The Theory of Industrial Organization, MIT Press, ISBN 0-262-20071-6, 1994.
Dennis Carlton and Jeffrey Perloff, Modern Industrial Organization, Third Edition, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-321-01145-7, 2000.
Jeffrey Church and Roger Ware, Industrial Organization, Irwin McGraw Hill, 2000, ISBN 0-256-20571-XAssignments:
Week | Shy | I.R. | Topics | |
26 Aug | 2,3 | 1 | Game Theory, Micro Review | |
2 Sept | Holiday | |||
9 Sept | 4,5 | Perfect Competition, Monopoly | ||
16 Sept | 6 | Markets for Homogeneous Products | ||
23 Sept | 7 | 2 | Markets for Differentiated Products, Pricing Info | |
30 Sept | 8 | Concentration, Mergers, and Entry Barriers | ||
7 Oct | Midterm I | |||
15 Oct | 11,16 | Ads, Price Dispersion and Search Theory | ||
21 Oct | 9 | Research and Development | ||
28 Oct | 10 | 7,8 | Networks, Compatibility and Standards | |
4 Nov | 5,6 | Lock-In | ||
11 Nov | Midterm II | |||
18 Nov | 12 | Quality, Durability, and Warranties | ||
25 Nov | 13 | Pricing Tactics | ||
2 Dec | 14 | Marketing Tactics | ||
16 Dec | Final Exam 7:30 p.m. - 10:15 p.m. |
Sam Peltzman, Review of The Handbook of Industrial Organization, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 99, No. 1. (Feb., 1991), pp. 201-217.Hal Varian, How to Build an Economic Model in your Spare Time
Tyler Cowen, Law as a public good, Economics and Philosophy, 8:249-267, 1992. See also Law as a Private Good, and Market Provision of Law, Networks, and the Paradox of Cooperation.
Robin Hanson, Location Discrimination in Circular City, Torus Town, and Beyond