Courses Exchange Display 2018-2019

Course Description To PDF
Course title International Competition Policy
Course code EBC2093
ECTS credits 6,5
Assessment None
Period
Period Start End Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
4 4-2-2019 5-4-2019 X/E X/E
Level Intermediate
Coordinator Thomas Meissner
For more information: t.meissner@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Language of instruction English
Goals
The course is an introduction into the objectives and implementations of Competition Policy. Students will be introduced to antitrust institutions all over the world with some emphasise on the European Union, its member states, and the US. Participants will learn how to evaluate the goals and their legal implementation from an economic point of view. Such an (empirical and theoretical) economic analysis enables participants to criticize existing Competition Law and to suggest improvements. These findings will be applied to landmark antitrust cases and ongoing controversies among competition policy scholars.
Description
The course starts with an overview of international antitrust institutions, thereby covering the major systems of competition policy in the EU and the US, as well as suggested or recently implemented frameworks in developing countries and transition economies. We will continue with a theoretical and empirical identification of market power – a necessary condition for any anticompetitive practice. The following sessions will provide an economic analysis of the major fields of competition policy such as the fight against collusion, merger regulation, and the abuse of a dominant position. For each field we will apply modern theories of strategic firm behaviour to explain when and why firms indeed act in an anticompetitive way. These insights are then utilized to develop guidelines for antitrust authorities. Finally, these recommendations are taken as a benchmark for an evaluation of existing antitrust policy schemes. The course will make excessive use of case studies to illustrate and test the policy recommendations.
Literature
Motta, Competition Policy, Cambridge University Press.
Case Descriptions, Documentations of Legal Frameworks, and Research Papers.
Prerequisites
Courses 1.2 and 2.1 in microeconomics.
Knowledge and understanding of microeconomics (level comparable to: course Microeconomics ). Exchange students need a major in economics.
an advanced level of English
Teaching methods (indicative; course manual is definitive) PBL / Presentation
Assessment methods (indicative; course manual is definitive) Final Paper / Participation
Evaluation in previous academic year For the complete evaluation of this course please click "here"
This course belongs to the following programmes / specialisations
Bachelor Economics and Business Economics - Economics Economics Electives
Bachelor Economics and Business Economics - Emerging Markets Economics Electives
Bachelor Economics and Business Economics - Emerging Markets Major Microeconomics
Bachelor Economics and Business Economics - International Business Economics Economics Electives
Bachelor Economics and Business Economics - International Business Economics Major Microeconomics
Bachelor Econometrics and Operations Research Business & Economics Electives
SBE Exchange Bachelor Bachelor Exchange Courses
SBE Exchange Master Bachelor Exchange Courses
SBE Non Degree Courses Bachelor Courses