EC31810 - THEORY OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION

Module Identifier	EC31810
Module Title	THEORY OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION
Academic Year	2002/2003
Co-ordinator	To Be Arranged
Semester	Intended for use in future years
Next year offered	N/A
Next semester offered	N/A
Pre-Requisite	EC30230
Course delivery	Lecture	10 Hours
	Seminars / Tutorials	4 Hours
Assessment	Semester Exam		80%
	Semester Assessment		20%

Aims

Drawing primarily on oligopoly and elementary game theory, this module introduces students to the theory underlying modern industrial economies.

Objectives

On completing this module students will understand:

How and why the traditional structure-conduct-performance approach gave way to the game-theoretic 'new industrial organisation';

How, and in what circumstances, firms in oligopolistic markets can deploy strategic weapons such as price, investment, advertising, product differentiation and R and D in order to gain a competitive advantage;

How market structure is thereby incidentally determined;

How competition can sometimes give way to co-operative behaviour.