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INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION

Syllabus

EN IT

Learning Objectives

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The main learning objectives are i) acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the discipline of industrial organisation, and the ability to apply its working methods to the analysis of markets, ii) introduction to the methods of academic research in the discipline of industrial organisation
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: knowledge and understanding of the main hypothesis, methods and results of industrail economics
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: ability to use the methods of industrial organisation to analyse markets
MAKING JUDGEMENTS: ability to evalutate the robustness of economic arguments in the light of the robustness of the underlying modeling choices
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: ability to illustrate the hypothesis, methods and results of industraill economics; ability to illustrate how the methods of industriail economics may be used to analyse markets
LEARNING SKILLS: ability to read, comprehend and evaluate advanced industrial economics manuals and paper

Prerequisites

MICROECONOMICS (BASIC); GAME THEORY (BASIC); MATHEMATICS (BASIC)

Program

The main topics covered during the module are:
- Demand and costs (week 1)
- Pricing and price discrimination (week 2)
- Oligopoly: price and quantity competition (week 3)
- Collusion (week 4)
- Entry and market structure (week 5)
- Mergers and merger policy (week 6)
- Market foreclosure (week 7)
- Vertical relations (week 8)
- Product differentiation and advertising (week 9)

Books

Cabral, L. 2017. Introduction to Industrial Organization, 2nd Ed. MIT Press.

Teaching methods

traditional lectures + weekly homework with practice classes for the discussion of the
students' homework

Exam Rules

Students are assessed through a written exam at the end of the course. The final exam consists of three parts: an open question, an exercise, and ten multiple-choice questions. Each of the three parts is assessed with a starting mark of 12 and a maximum mark of 32; the final mark is given by the average of the marks in the three sections. The exam is considered passed if the following two conditions are met: 1) final average grade greater than or equal to 18; 2) grade greater than or equal to 18 in at least two of the three sections.
The open question is intended for the evaluation of the student with respect to all educational objectives. The exercise is intended for the evaluation of understanding and knowledge of the subject and the ability to apply his knowledge in modeling situations similar to those typical of research in industrial economics. Multiple choice questions are intended to assess understanding and knowledge of the subject matter.
The evaluation of the student's test in the first part of the exam (open question) is made on the basis of the following criteria:
- 12-17: significant deficiencies and/or inaccuracies in knowledge and understanding of the topics; limited analysis and synthesis skills; frequent generalizations.
- 18-20: just sufficient knowledge and understanding of the topics with possible imperfections; Sufficient analytical, synthesis and independent judgment skills.
- 21-23: Knowledge and understanding of routine topics; Correct analysis and synthesis skills with coherent logical argumentation.
- 24-26: Fair knowledge and understanding of the topics; good analytical and synthesis skills with rigorously expressed arguments.
- 27-29: Complete knowledge and understanding of the topics; remarkable analytical and synthesis skills. Good independent judgment.
o 30-30L: Excellent level of knowledge and understanding of the topics. Remarkable analytical and synthesis skills and independent judgment. Arguments expressed in an original way.
The evaluation of the student's test in the second part of the exam (exercise) is made on the basis of the following criteria:
- 12-17: significant deficiencies and/or inaccuracies in the knowledge and understanding of the topic and structure of the exercise; limited ability to analyse and understand the techniques and procedures for solving the exercise.
- 18-20: just sufficient knowledge and understanding of the theme and structure of the exercise with possible imperfections; sufficient ability to analyse and understand the techniques and procedures for solving the exercise.
- 21-23: Routine knowledge and understanding of the theme and structure of the exercise; more than sufficient ability to analyze and understand the techniques and procedures for solving the exercise.
- 24-26: Fair knowledge and understanding of the theme and structure of the exercise; good analytical skills and understanding of the techniques and procedures for solving the exercise.
- 27-29: Complete knowledge and understanding of the theme and structure of the exercise; considerable ability to analyze and understand the techniques and procedures for solving the exercise.
- 30-30L: Excellent level of knowledge and understanding of the theme and structure of the exercise. Remarkable analytical skills and understanding of the techniques and procedures for solving the exercise...
The evaluation of the student's test in the third part of the exam (multiple choice questions) is made on the basis of the number of correct/wrong/not given answers, demonstrating the breadth of the knowledge acquired.
During the course weeks, homework assignments are distributed on a weekly basis, with a similar nature to that of the exercises in the final exam. By completing weekly tasks, regardless of attendance, the student can self-evaluate his/her progress with respect to the educational objectives of the course. Through weekly homework, depending on the evaluation given by the course teaching staff, the student can improve the final grade obtained in the final exam by up to 10%.