96837 - ECONOMIA DELLA CONCORRENZA

Academic Year 2021/2022

Learning outcomes

This course studies the economics of competition and antitrust. Particularly, students learn how to define a relevant market; how to measure the market power of a firm; what is collusion and how to prevent it; the assessment of market concentrations; how to deal with vertical integration; what are the most common practices of abuse of dominance and how to deal with them. At the end of the course, the student knows how to apply the most important models of industrial economics to antitrust cases, and knows how to use rigourous models in the analisis of competition policy issues.

Course contents

  1. Competition policy: goals and evolution
  2. Leveling the playing field: estimating demand and cost functions. Demand elasiticty
  3. Market power and efficiency
  4. The definition of the relevant market and the assessment of market power
  5. Horizontal agreements and collusion
  6. Horizontal mergers
  7. Verical agreements and vertical mergers
  8. Abuse of dominance and anticompetitive practices

Readings/Bibliography

Motta, M. (2004). Competition Policy. Theory and Practice. New York. Cambridge University Press.

Other materials and antitrust cases will be rendered available during the lectures and on the website

https://virtuale.unibo.it/

Teaching methods

Lectures and interactive discussions of antitrust cases in class.

Students are advised to read the material beforehand. The material pertaining to every single lecture is indicated in the detailed syllabus published in the website

https://virtuale.unibo.it/

at the beginning of the course.

Assessment methods

Students attending lectures:

  • Final written exam. The exam lasts 1 and 1/2 hours and consists of 8 questions on the whole program requiring a brief answer.
  • Presentation in class of an antitrust case or of a scientific paper, chosen with the help of the teacher by the end of the second week of the course. The presentation can be prepared in collaboration with another fellow student.

    The final written exam counts 60% of the total course grade. The presentation counts 40%.

    Students not attending lectures:

  • Final written exam. The exam lasts 2 hours and consists of 16 questions on the whole program requiring a brief answer.

Specific information about grading methods is available on the Italian page of this course .

Sample exams will be available, before the end of the lectures, in the website

https://virtuale.unibo.it/

Teaching tools

Slides and other materials might be available on the e-learning website

https://virtuale.unibo.it/

Links to further information

https://virtuale.unibo.it/

Office hours

See the website of Emanuela Carbonara

SDGs

Quality education Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible consumption and production Peace, justice and strong institutions

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.