Economics 394IO - Industrial Organization

In this course we explore microeconomic theories of how industries operate in real-world marketplaces where the conditions often deviate substantially from the perfectly competitive model in your earlier microeconomics courses. Industrial organization refers to the degree and type of competition (or cooperation) among firms in an industry. Different industrial conditions tend to lead to different structures and conduct of industries, and hence, different outcomes for shareholders, managers, workers, suppliers, and consumers. We consider public policies, such as antitrust law and regulation, that do, or should, shape the way that firms interact with their customers and with each other. The goal is for you to develop tools to understand how and why firms act the way they do in the context of their industry, and what role government can and should play. Satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Econ majors.

This class is open to Seniors and Juniors whose primary major is in Economics only. Pre Req: ECON 203 May be used to fulfill IE requirement for Econ primary majors.

To request Department Consent for enrollment in this class, students must complete an Economics Undergraduate Course Request form and attend class to obtain the instructor?s signature on the form before submitting it. The form and instructions are here: http://www.umass.edu/economics/CourseRequestFormFall2014.pdf.