ECO 323 - Industrial Organization

We often hear that perfect competition is the ideal market structure for an industry, but what if it isn’t?  When are there benefits to consumers from allowing two large companies to merge?  Are Microsoft and Google providing valuable technological innovations for society, or strategically capturing market share and profit for themselves?  

We study some frameworks for answering these and other questions, starting with a review of how market structure, firm behavior, and outcomes for consumers are related.  We examine the effects of various business strategies such as price discrimination, product differentiation, collusion, mergers, advertising, R&D and investment.  Finally, we discuss landmark antitrust court cases and apply theoretical frameworks to understand why different industries may be treated differently.

Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Economics 202 required.