75975 - Behavioural Economics

Learning outcomes

This course aims at providing students with analytical tools useful to understand and make decisions in conditions of imperfect and incomplete information, risk and uncertainty. Students will learn how to deal with intertemporal choices, strategic interaction and the problems arising from information asymmetry and transaction costs

Course contents

This Module, together with the Industrial Organization one, will deal with Competition Economics and Policy and Regulation Economics.

Competition Economics:

• Introduction
• Industrial organization tools for antritrust economics and policy
• Market power and welfare
• Collusion and horizontal agreements
• Horizontal mergers
• Vertical mergers
• Predation, monopolisation and other abusive practices

Regulation Economics:

• Introduction
• Alternatives to regulation
• Optimal pricing
• Incentive regulation
• Natural monopoly regulation
  
• Regulation in Potentially competitive markets

Readings/Bibliography

• M. Motta; Competition Policy - Theory and Practice. Cambridge, 2004.
• W. K. Viscusi, J. Harrington Jr., D. E. Sappington; Economics of Regulation and Antitrust, MIT Press 5th Edition, 2018.
• Further references will be provided when needed.

Teaching methods

Traditional Lectures.

Assessment methods

Written, closed book, exam, with free-response questions. The maximum mark (all answers correct and complete, with an appropriate level of formalization) is 30 e lode. Non-compulsory group presentations of antitrust/regulation cases will give up to 3 (three) extra points to be added the exam mark.

Mark scale:

<18 Fail.

18-23 Pass.

24-27 Good.

28-30 Distinction.

30 e lode Great Distinction.

If online, the exams will be held on the EOL platform and will have the same structure.

Teaching tools

Slides

Office hours

See the website of Emanuele Bacchiega