ID:
501501
Duration (hours):
44
CFU:
6
SSD:
ECONOMIA APPLICATA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Primo Semestre (22/09/2025 - 19/12/2025)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The primary objective of the course is to equip students with the ability to identify and interpret the main market structures, analyze firms’ strategic behavior in product‑policy decisions, understand strategic interactions among firms, and apply decision‑making models under uncertainty. With particular reference to oligopolistic market models and social‑welfare analysis, the course will examine the tools of economic analysis, including the effects of market concentration, entry and exit dynamics, and discussions of price discrimination and product differentiation.
Students will acquire the microeconomic analytical tools needed to assess firms’ market power and anti‑competitive practices, their strategic determinants, and their implications for industrial concentration and social welfare.
Students are expected to become familiar with these topics, to apply them to real‑world cases, and to develop the ability to solve theoretical exercises.
Course Prerequisites
The course requires a basic knowledge of microeconomic principles covered during the first year. The student must have a solid understanding of cost structures, economies of scale, and market‑equilibrium mechanisms, while also possessing the mathematical skills needed to compute simple derivatives for economic optimization. The ability to interpret and construct Cartesian graphs related to demand functions, cost curves, and surplus areas is also essential, applying the logical principles of economic rationality to solve profit‑maximization problems through the condition of equality between marginal revenue and marginal cost.
Teaching Methods
Lectures in which the theoretical content and its applications are presented, supported by the use of slides. The lectures are regularly complemented by in‑class tutorials, where theoretical concepts are further explored through problem‑solving activities.
All teaching materials used during the lectures, supplementary readings, and tutorial exercises are made available on the course’s KIRO webpage.
Assessment Methods
The exam is designed to assess both the theoretical understanding of the models and the ability to apply them to practical problems. The written test is structured into two consecutive parts:
Part 1: Consists of 10 multiplechoice questions on the theoretical concepts covered during the lectures. To access the second part, students must answer at least 7 out of 10 questions correctly.
Part 2: Consists of solving a practical exercise.
The maximum achievable score is 31 points (corresponding to 30 e Lode). The final grade will reflect the results of both parts, rewarding analytical precision and appropriate use of technical language.
Texts
(i) Industrial Organization by Luís Cabral, Carocci, 2018. ISBN: 9788843092611
(ii) Industrial Organization: Exercises and Applications by Christian Garavaglia, Carocci, 2019. ISBN: 9788843098491.
Contents
Introduction to Industrial Organization and Economics: Market power, mark‑ups, Structure–Conduct–Performance (SCP) paradigm
Price discrimination: First‑, second‑, and third‑degree price discrimination
Games and strategies: Normal‑form games, prisoner’s dilemma, dominant and dominated strategies, Nash equilibrium, sequential games in extensive form, subgames and subgame‑perfect equilibria, backward induction
Asymmetric information: Asymmetric information and product quality, Akerlof’s market for lemons
Oligopoly: Bertrand model and equilibrium, Bertrand paradox, Cournot model and equilibrium, Stackelberg model, comparison between Stackelberg and Cournot
Collusion and price wars: Stability of collusive agreements, trigger strategies, deviation constraints, real‑world collusion and theoretical models
Market structure and its evolution: Market concentration, concentration indices, Lerner index, economies of scale and concentration, competitive intensity and market structure
Entry and exit: Forms of entry and exit, managerial implications, entry barriers, entry‑deterrence strategies
Vertical relationships: Double marginalization, two‑part tariffs, resale price maintenance, vertical restraints and antitrust policy
Product differentiation: Horizontal and vertical differentiation, Hotelling’s model, product positioning
More information
All organizational information, teaching materials, and supplementary readings are available on the course’s KIRO webpage.
Degrees
Degrees
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Bachelor’s Degree
3 years
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