Advanced Industrial Organization

by prof. dr. Patrick van Cayseele and prof. dr. Frank Verboven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven - Belgium)

 

Course description

This course is topical and covers both theoretical and new empirical industrial organization models. The following is a non-exhaustive list of topics that will be covered:

•  Competition in Two-sided Markets ( Platforms)

•  Competition against and between Bundles

•  Competition between Complement Platforms

•  Competition between Networks

•  Empirical approaches to Market Definition

•  Market Definition and Product Differentiation

•  Mergers and Simulation Analysis

•  Vertical Agreements: the Car Market

 

In addition, if time is available, the following topics will be added:

•  Price-Cost Margins avoiding Cost Data

•  Empirical analysis in Cartel Cases

 

In class, we will try not only to achieve a balance between theory and empirical research, but also between analysis of models and application to actual antitrust cases.

 

Articles will be used in group discussions/presentations. After having lectured on a substantial subset of the articles, participants can be assigned to cases, and asked to present the arguments. Not the “raw” cases, but rather the discussion of them in the literature will be discussed, and time will be taken out to work through the material. These readings are marked in the list below, with “ Case” up front the reference . Click here for the readings.

 

Lectures are self-contained and only draw upon specific references (see list below) which, if studied in further detail, can be used also as further reading.

 

Target audience

Participants normally have followed the ENCORE principles and intermediate lecture series or equivalent. This implies familiarity with non-cooperative game theory and oligopoly models. The material participants should master is covered by Forges F. and J.-F. Thisse, Game Theory and Industrial Economics: An Introduction , in G. Norman and M. La Manna, 1992, The New Industrial Economics, Edward Elgar and Foundations of Oligopoly Theory I, II and III, respectively Chapters 2,3 and 4 of S. Martin, 2002, Advanced Industrial Economics , 2nd. Edition, Blackwell.