Teaching code

4S00509

Teacher

Giandemetrio Marangoni

Coordinator

Giandemetrio Marangoni

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

SECS-P/01 - ECONOMICS

Period

Primo Semestre Triennali dal Sep 18, 2017 al Jan 12, 2018.

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning outcomes

Industrial Organisation is the branch of Economics which studies markets and the strategies of enterprises operating within them. The subject was born in the thirties of the last century through the work of Edward Chamberlin and Joan Robinson. They analyzed imperfect competition, particularly monopolistic competition and oligopoly, considering specific aspects such as barriers to entry, price strategies, product differentiation, vertical integration, diversification, research, advertising, strategic alliances, and many other topics. Important developments in the subject relate to transaction costs and imperfect contracts, the contestable markets and the role of information, but above all the use of a particular mathematical instrument, Game Theory, which is appropriate to the study of business interactions.
In addition to dealing with the above areas, the course will have, as a particular underlying theme, the study of interdependence: between markets and enterprises, and between the enterprises themselves, where reciprocal relationships are established. The structure of a market influences the strategies of enterprises that operate therein, but the behaviour of enterprises can change the form of the market. Likewise, the action of one enterprise can affect the reaction of other enterprises, obliging the former to review its policy. Such feedback makes the study of Industrial Organisation dynamic, leading to circular production schemes developed by economists such as David Ricardo and Piero Sraffa.

Program

Part 1:
1. An introduction to Industrial Organisation
2. Production, costs, profit
3. Theories of the firm
4. Oligopoly: non-collusive and collusive models
5. Market concentration
6. Barriers to entry, pricing, product differentiation, advertising
7. Research and development
8. Vertical integration, mergers, strategic alliances
9. Public Policy
Part 2:
1. Game Theory and imperfect competition
2. Graph Theory and logistics
3. Linear Programming and production optimization
4. Input-Output Analysis and interdependencies between economic sectors
5. Organisation of industrial enterprises

Examination Methods

Written examination with multiple-choice questions, open questions and exercises, with the possiblility of an oral integration.