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Instructor: |
Matt Holian |
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Office
Location: |
DMH 131 |
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Telephone: |
408-924-1371 |
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Email: |
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Office
Hours: |
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Class
Days/Time: |
Monday,
6:30-9:15p.m. |
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Classroom: |
DMH 160 |
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Prerequisites: |
Principles of
microeconomics (Econ 1B) |
Copies of the syllabus, major assignment handouts, etc. may
be found on my web page accessible through http://mattholian.com.
You are responsible for regularly checking the e-mail address that you
currently have on file with MySJSU, and you should also check your spam box.
This course can be divided into two sections. In the first
section, we explore industrial organization (IO) concepts through neoclassical
representations of competition, monopoly and oligopoly, as well as game
theoretic formulations of these topics.
The material is selectively drawn from Church and Ware (2000), a
mainstream IO text; we will cover approximately 166 pages in total. The second section covers more
explicitly dynamic frameworks for understanding entrepreneurship and other disequilibrium
phenomenon, as well as antitrust issues, especially those surrounding
innovative industries. The material
for this section comes from two supplementary texts, one on strategy (Mathews,
2006) and the other on antitrust (Ellig, 2001). In all, students in this class will be
exposed to insights from mainstream as well as Schumpeterian, path dependence,
Austrian, evolutionary, and resource-based perspectives.
The main goals for students are:
to reaffirm the understanding of economic methodology, especially the basic
price theory of perfect competition and monopoly, (but also including
model-based argument and thought more generally); to develop useful game
theoretic tools for understanding strategic situations; to be exposed to some
diverse perspectives on IO that one can turn to when neoclassical economics
falls short; and to take these diverse perspectives into consideration when
evaluating business strategy and antitrust cases that are of local and global
interest. This course should be equally
relevant for business and business policy students, future anti-competitive
watchdogs, and general students of economics alike.
This text can be downloaded for
free at: http://homepages.ucalgary.ca/~jrchurch/page4/page5/files/PostedIOSA.pdf
There will be one midterm (on 3/16) and a final (on 5/18),
each with equal weight (40%). The
other 20% of the grade comes from homework assignments, to be assigned and
distributed at various points throughout the class. Attendance per se shall not be used as a
criterion for grading (according to Academic Policy F-69-24) however many of
the test questions, especially on material from the second half of the class,
will draw heavily from class discussion.
Therefore, you are encouraged to attend every class.
The schedule is subject to change. I will announce any changes in class,
and post an updated schedule on the course web page.
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Week |
Date |
Topics, |
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1 |
1-26-09 |
Introduction Thompson
and Vogelstein (2009 Wired article) access here CW,
Chapter 1 (pp. 10-17) (http://ucalgary.ca) |
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2 |
2-02-09 |
The Welfare Economics of Market Power
CW
Chapter 2 (pp. 19-48) |
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3 |
2-09-09 |
The Neoclassical Theory of the Firm CW
Section 3.1 (pp. 49-62) The Modern Theory of the Firm CW
Section 3.2 (pp. 62-81) |
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4 |
2-16-09 |
Issues in Monopoly and Price Discrimination CW
Sections 4.1, 4.4, 4.5 & 5.1-5.3
(pp.
109-124, 145-150 & 155-161) Asymmetric Information CW
Sections 3.4 & 6.2 (pp. 94-107 & 190-193) |
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5 |
2-23-09 |
Game Theory I
Homework
1 due in class Mankiw,
2007 pp. 345-356 (to be distributed on 2/16) CW
Chapter 7 (pp. 209-227) |
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6 |
3-02-09 |
Game Theory II CW
Chapter 9 (pp. 283-304) |
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7 |
3-09-09 |
Review day
Homework
2 due in class |
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8 |
3-16-09 |
midterm; intro to the Ellig text |
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Spring break, 3-23 to 3-27-09 Read
Ellig, Introduction and Chapter 1 |
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9 |
3-30-09 |
Dynamic Competition and Antitrust Policy Ellig
Introduction (http://assets.cambridge.org) Non-neoclassical frameworks for IO Ellig
Chapter 1: A Taxonomy of Dynamic
Competition Theories |
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10 |
4-6-09 |
Historical
Antitrust Cases and Ricardian Economics Two handouts
distributed in class on 3/30 (video lecture; no class, details TBA) |
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11 |
4-13-09 |
The Resource Based View Ellig
Chapter 2: Competence Explanations of Economic Profits in Strategic
Management: Some Policy Implications (Barney) |
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12 |
4-20-09 |
Antitrust: A view from the inside Ellig
Chapter 3: Innovation and Antitrust Enforcement (Rubinfeld and Hoven) Ellig
Chapter 4: New Indicia for Antitrust Analysis in Markets Experiencing Rapid Innovation
(Pleatsikas and Teece) |
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13 |
4-27-09 |
Innovation and Monopoly Ellig
Chapter 5: Innovation and Monopoly Leveraging (Fisher) Network Effects Ellig
Chapter 6: Network Effects and the Microsoft Case (Liebowitz and Margolis) |
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14 |
5-04-09 |
Evolutionary Economics and Path Dependence Ellig
Chapter 7: Technological Standards, Innovation, and Essential Facilities
(Langlois) Ellig
Chapter 8: Intellectual Property and Antitrust Limitations on Contract
(Burtis and Kobayashi) |
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Final Exam |
5-11-09 |
review for the final |
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5-18-09 |
Final Monday, 7:45-10:00p.m. |
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Recommended
reading:
Ronald
Coase (1937) “The Nature of the Firm”
Adam
Smith (1776) “The Wealth of Nations” Paragraphs I.1.5 & I.1.7, on the pin
factory & Paragraph
V.1.107
on joint stock companies
Students are responsible for
understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops, academic renewal,
etc. Information
on add/drops are available at
http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/soc-fall/rec-324.html . Information about
late drop is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/sac/advising/latedrops/policy/ . Students should be aware of the
current deadlines and penalties for adding and dropping classes.
Students should know that
the University’s Academic
Integrity Policy is availabe at
http://www.sa.sjsu.edu/download/judicial_affairs/Academic_Integrity_Policy_S07-2.pdf.
Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced
by your enrollment at
Instances
of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Cheating on exams or plagiarism
(presenting the work of another as your own, or the use of another
person’s ideas without giving proper credit) will result in a failing
grade and sanctions by the University. For this class, all assignments are to
be completed by the individual student unless otherwise specified. If you would
like to include in your assignment any material you have submitted, or plan to
submit for another class, please note that SJSU’s Academic Policy F06-1
requires approval of instructors.
If you need course
adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make
special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an
appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours.
Presidential Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities
requesting accommodations must register with the DRC (
The Learning Assistance
Resource Center (LARC) is located in Room 600 in the
The
[1] Page one of this text starts on page 34 of the PDF
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