Courses Master Display 2017-2018

Course Description To PDF
Course title Industrial Economics
Course code EBC4007
ECTS credits 6,5
Assessment Whole/Half Grades
Period
Period Start End Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
4 5-2-2018 6-4-2018 X X
Level Advanced
Coordinator Andrés Perea y Monsuwé, Chris Woolnough
For more information: a.perea@maastrichtuniversity.nl; c.woolnough@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Language of instruction English
Goals
The goal of this course is to show how various situations of competition between firms can be modeled, and how game theoretic tools can be used to analyze these models. It provides an excellent basis for doing research in industrial economics or a related field, but is also essential outside the academic world, for instance in managerial decision making or competition policy.
Description
Industrial economics studies the competition between firms in various disguises: competition in prices, competition in quantities, product differentiation, price discrimination, entry and exit, and combinations of these. The crucial question is always: As a manager of the firm, what decision would you take, and why? In this course we show how to set up such models of competition between firms, both in a static and a dynamic setting. We also show that these models can be successfully analyzed by using tools from game theory, such as Nash equilibrium and subgame perfect equilibrium. It is no surprise that game theory plays an important role here, since in order to make a good decision for your own firm you must reason about the decisions of the other firms. That is exactly what game theory is about. This beautiful marriage between economics and game theory will be at the center stage of this course.
Literature
"Industrial Organization: Markets and Strategies" by Paul Belleflamme and Martin Peitz, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2015 (second edition).
Prerequisites
A good understanding of micro economics, and a basic knowledge of game theory.
Teaching methods (indicative; course manual is definitive) PBL / Lecture
Assessment methods (indicative; course manual is definitive) Written Exam
Evaluation in previous academic year For the complete evaluation of this course please click "here"
This course belongs to the following programmes / specialisations
Master Business Research Free Electives
Master Business Research Track OR Free Electives
Master Econometrics and OR Econometrics & OR Electives
Master Econometrics and OR Mathematical Economics
Master Economic and Financial Research Track Econometrics Electives
Master Economic and Financial Research Track Econometrics Track Econometrics Core Courses
Master Economic and Financial Research Electives
SBE Exchange Master Master Exchange Courses
SBE Non Degree Courses Master Courses