Theory of Industrial Organization

(Market Structure)
ECO 7341
Fall, 2021.
 

Instructor:       Santanu Roy
                       Professor of Economics, SMU.
Office:            301-NA Umphrey Lee Building, SMU.
Tel:                 214 768 2714
Fax:                214 768 1821
E-mail:           sroy@smu.edu
 

Office Hours:  Monday & Wednesday, 10 – 11.30 AM & by appointment.
 

Lectures: Tuesday and Thursday, 2 – 3.20 PM, Umphrey Lee 301-S.


Download Syllabus


Introduction.
Industrial Organization (I.O) is primarily concerned with the causes and consequences of market power, the strategic behavior of firms in markets and the links between firm behavior, market structure and the economic performance of markets. This course is directed towards Ph.D. students in economics who have completed their core requirements for candidacy. The course will focus on a few important topics in I.O. theory and introduce students to the various research questions, modeling approaches, basic results as well as exciting new developments in these areas.

 


Textbooks:
Required: The Theory of Industrial Organization by Jean Tirole, MIT Press, 1988.

Supplementary Text:

Industrial Organization: Markets and Strategies by Paul Belleflamme and Martin Peitz, Cambridge University Press, 2010


Tentative List of Topics
   

    1. Durable goods monopoly, Coase conjecture

    2. Competition: Pre-commitment, Product Differentiation; Collusion

    3. Informative Advertising, Consumer Search, Switching Cost & Competition.

    4. Markets with Asymmetric Information about product quality: Competition, Signaling and Disclosure; Advertising; Certification; Adverse Selection in Secondary Durable Good Markets: Leasing, Dynamic Trading.

    5. Technological Change: Innovation and R&D Activity, Patent Races, Adoption of New Technology, Cooperative and Non-cooperative R&D; Research Joint Ventures.

    6.  Industry Dynamics.