Industrial Organization I
Fall 2000 GMU Syllabus

Economics 844, meets 7:20-10:00pm, Wednesday, during Fall 2000, in room Robinson Hall A125.

Instructor: Robin D. Hanson, Asst. Professor, Economics (rhanson@gmu.edu, http://hanson.gmu.edu)
Office Hours: Officially, Mon, Wed 4-5:30pm. But I'm usually in at 10b Carow Hall. Call ahead (703-993-2326) if you want to be sure.
Catalog Entry:

Econ 844 Industrial Organization and Public Policy I (3:3:0). Prerequisite: ECON 611 or permission of instructor. Structure of American industry and underlying determinants. Analysis of structure and conduct on industrial performance in light of theory and empirical evidence. Rational antitrust policy and analysis of impact on structure and performance.
Required Texts:
Oz Shy, Industrial Organization, Theory and Applications, MIT Press, ISBN 0-262-69179-5, 1996. (errata)
Carl Shapiro, Hal R. Varian, Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy, Harvard Business School Press, ISBN: 087584863X, 1998.
F.M. Scherer, Industry, Structure, Strategy, and Public Policy, Harper Collins, ISBN 0-673-99289-6, 1996.
Optional Texts:
Jean Tirole, The Theory of Industrial Organization, MIT Press, ISBN 0-262-20071-6, 1994.
Dennis Carlton and Jeffrey Perloff, Modern Industrial Organization, Second Edition, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-673-46902-6, 1994.
Assignments: Lecture Schedule
WeekShy Ch.I.R. Ch.Topics
30 Aug 2,3 1 Game Theory, Micro Review, Info Economy
6 Sep 4,5 Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Private Law
13 Sep 6 Markets for Homogeneous Products, Open Source
20 Sep 7 2 Markets for Differentiated Products, Pricing Info, Beer
27 Sep 5,6 Lock-In, Airlines
4 Oct 8 Concentration, Mergers, and Entry Barriers, Computers
11 Oct Holiday
18 Oct 10 7,8 Networks, Compatibility and Standards, Dairy
25 Oct Midterm
1 Nov 12 Quality, Durability, and Warranties, Cars
8 Nov Student Paper Presentations
15 Nov Student Paper Presentations
22 Nov 14 Marketing Tactics, Textiles, Drugs
29 Nov 16 Price Dispersion and Search Theory, Insurance
6 Dec Slack/Review, Papers Due
13 Dec Final Exam 7:30 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.
Misc. Articles
Sam Peltzman, Review of The Handbook of Industrial Organization, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 99, No. 1. (Feb., 1991), pp. 201-217.

Hal Varian, How to Build an Economic Model in your Spare Time

Tyler Cowen, Law as a public good, Economics and Philosophy, 8:249-267, 1992. See also Law as a Private Good, and Outline of a Critique of Tyler Cowen's "Law as a Public Good."

Robin Hanson, Location Discrimination in Circular City, Torus Town, and Beyond

New Economy Articles
Economics of Networks, by Nicholas Economides, 1996.

Speculative Microeconomics for Tomorrow's Economy, by J. Bradford DeLong and A. Michael Froomkin, First Monday 5(2), February 7, 2000.

Old Economy, New Rules, by J. Bradford DeLong, WorldLink Nov/Dec 1998.

Does the "New Economy" Measure up to the Great Inventions of the Past?, Robert Gordon, 2000.

Living on the Fault Line, by Geoffrey A. Moore, 2000.

New Rules for the New Economy, 10 Radical Strategies for a Connected World, by Kevin Kelley, 1998. See also a related article.

The 'Free' Market: Meet The 'New' Economy, Same as the 'Old' Economy

Policy Debate: Is There a New Economy?