ECON 449 - Industrial Organization

Prerequisites, ECON 350, and MATH 109 or MATH 110, with a minimum grade of C- in each prerequisite. This course uses applied microeconomic theory to study the relationships between firm conduct, market structure, and industry performance. Topics include monopoly power and imperfect competition, price discrimination, product differentiation, firm entry/exit, advertising, and signaling. The course will introduce the possibility that free markets may not produce the socially optimal set of products. Emphasis will be divided equally between the strategic implications of the models and the policy implications. Letter grade. (Offered every year.) 3 credits