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.

Pre Req: ECON 203 Open only to Econ primary majors until after juniors enroll, then open to all students a/o November 13. Fulfills the IE requirement only for Econ primary majors.