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Prof Martin Pesendorfer SAL.4.19

This course is available on the BSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, BSc in Economics, BSc in Economics and Economic History, BSc in Economics with Economic History, BSc in International Social and Public Policy and Economics, BSc in Mathematics and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with a Year Abroad). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Students must have completed Microeconomic Principles I (EC201) or Microeconomic Principles II (EC202) or Microeconomics II (EC2A1).  A highly motivated student who has done well in EC2A3-- as a guideline 65 or better – is welcome on the course, but only if handling economics mathematically comes naturally. Also, students must have completed Introduction to Econometrics (EC220) or Principles of Econometrics (EC221) or Econometrics II (EC2C1) or Econometrics I (EC2C3) in combination with Econometrics II (EC2C4), or equivalent.  Students who believe they have completed an equivalent course instead of one of these must receive permission from Prof. Pesendorfer before selecting the course.

The aim of the course is to provide students with a working knowledge of theoretical and empirical methods for industry studies. Topics may include: monopoly, price discrimination, oligopoly theory, mergers, product differentiation, dynamic industry models, collusion, demand estimation, production function estimation, empirical techniques for oligopoly models, identification of conduct, advertising, search, auction markets, empirics of auction markets, winner’s curse, collusion in auctions, matching markets, and moral hazard. The topics will be discussed with applications for selected industries and considering competition policy questions.

15 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the AT. 15 hours of lectures and 9 hours of classes in the WT. 1 hour of classes in the ST.

There will be a reading week in Week 6 of WT (no lectures or classes that week).

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures and classes totalling a minimum of 50 hours across Autumn Term, Winter Term and Spring Term.

Two marked assignments per term.

The course will draw on a variety of texts, the main ones being:

1. Jeffrey R. Church and Roger Ware. Industrial Organization: A Strategic Approach.
2. Jean Tirole. Theory of Industrial Organization
3. Guillaume Haeringer. Market Design: Auctions and Matching

A detailed reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Some notes will be provided where textbook coverage is inadequate.

Exam (100%, duration: 3 hours, reading time: 15 minutes) in the spring exam period.