This is a year long course

If you take the course for credit (this information is valid for both ULB and KUL students), you should register for ECON-D-519 "Graduate Microeconomics III" during the first semester and for ECOND -D-447 "Advanced Industrial Organization" for the second semester.

Lectures will be given either at the KUL campus (HOG 02.101) or at the ULB campus (Bâtiment S, room 12.127, 44 ave Jeanne, Brussels)

• Directions to the KUL campus: Directions to KUL
• Directions to the ULB campus: Google maps, additional information on ECARES website.

Teachers

• Estelle Cantillon (ECARES-ULB),
• Jo Van Biesebroeck (KUL)
• Heiko Karle (ECARES-ULB)
• Patrick Legros (ECARES-ULB),
• Frank Verboven (KUL)

Overview

This is a year-long graduate course in industrial organization, with an emphasis on competition policy applications. The course aims to prepare students to be both producers and consumers of theoretical and empirical work in industrial organization. It will cover pricing and product positioning by firms, vertical organization of production, and industry organization and long term evolution. For each topic, we will cover the relevant theory and empirical methods and discuss a competition policy application.

The course is also relevant for students interested in trade and empirical work in microeconomics, and for those interested in a career in economic consulting and antitrust after their Ph.D.

Topics

Pricing and product positioning

1. Homogenous products
2. Behavioral approaches
3. Heterogenous products
4. Multiproduct firms / multi-unit demand with heterogenous consumers
5. Auctions

The organization of production

1. Boundaries of the firm: intro
2. Vertical relationships and contracts
3. Networks and platform competition
4. Intermediaries

Industry organization and long term evolution

1. Entry
2. Long term industry equilibrium
3. Estimation of dynamic, single and multi-agent models

Prerequisites

First year graduate micro sequence and first year graduate econometrics sequence (or equivalent). If you are not from ECARES, CORE or KULeuven, you must first get permission from the instructors to take the course for credit.

Course requirements

There will be six or seven problem sets and two referee reports to write. Students are expected to participate actively in class.

Final grade

Problem sets and referee reports will count for 90% of the final grade. Participation in class will count for 10% of the final grade.

Logistics

The course will meet on Thursdays from 9-12h. The first class will be on October 8 and will run until Dec 17. The course will resume on February 11, 2008 and will run until March 18. Classes will alternate between KULeuven (Department of Economics, Naamsestraat 69, room HOG 02.101) and ECARES (44, avenue Jeanne, 12th floor, S12.227).

Schedule

Fall semester

• Leuven: 8/10, 15/10, 22/10 (room HOG 03.102 on 15/10)
• Ecares: 29/10, 12/11, 19/11, 26/11, 3/12, 10/12, 17/12

Spring semester

Note that the lectures will be given on Wednesday rather than Thursday.

• Ecares: 10/2
• Leuven (TBC): 17/2, 24/2, 3/3, 10/3, 17/3