Econ 409a Firms, Markets and Competition

Permission of instructor required

This course explores the theory of imperfectly competitive markets, focusing on the interactions among firm behavior, market structure, and market outcomes.

Topics typically covered include price discrimination, pricing of durable goods, strategic choice of product quality, oligopoly competition, collusion, auctions and procurement, predatory behavior, strategic investment, firm entry and exit, product positioning and pricing, and advertising.   

Through class lectures and regular problem sets, students will develop skills in formulating and solving analytical models, often using game theoretic solution concepts. 

Prerequisite: After intermediate microeconomics or equivalent.