INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS AND POLICY (Cognomi L-Z)
Academic year and teacher
If you can't find the course description that you're looking for in the above list,
please see the following instructions >>
- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- LAURETTA RUBINI
- Credits
- 8
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- SECS-P/06
Training objectives
- The course focuses on providing students an ample view on interpretative models and problems of industrial economics on one side, as well as the instruments of industrial policy on the other.
At the end of the course, students should gain knowledge in:
-basic concepts on market structures and neoclassical theory
-varieties of firm models and of production organization models
- product differentiation and price strategies
- R&D, innovation development phases, intellectual property rights protection tools, relationship between innovation and firm strategies
- definition of industrial policy, reasons for the industrial policy intervention, market failure and other policy objectives
- government failure and possible remedies.
During the course, students will have the opportunity to gain the following abilities:
- to analyze the dynamics of industrial development in a policy perspective
- to critically analyze the strategies of companies and their impact on the competitive dynamics of sectors
- to identify the patenting and innovation protection opportunities
- to evaluate government’s intervention choices Prerequisites
- None. Nevertheless, students are kindly suggested to have already passed the following exams: Basic Economics (macro & Micro), Basic Public Economics, Management & Business Organization.
Course programme
- The course foresees 56 teaching hours.
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION (about 12 hrs)
- Basic concepts: Demand and supply functions - Consumer and producer surplus - The short run - The long run - The very long run - Long run profit maximisation condition - Barriers to entry and exit.
- Market structures and microeconomic notions: Perfect Competition. Monopoly. Oligopoly. Monopolistic Competition - Structure-conduct-performance paradigm - Measures of market concentration
SECTION 2 - INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS (about 27 hrs)
- Variety of firm models: neoclassical theory - behavioural theory - Managerial theory - Transaction costs theory.
Variety of production organisation models: The Japanese case - The South-Korean case - The publicly-owned company - The cooperatives - The social company - The multinational company - Systems of firms.
Mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances: Horizontal mergers, vertical mergers, conglomerate mergers. Strategic alliances.
Price strategies: Methods for price determination - Price discrimination - Predatory pricing - Limit pricing - Prices set by the State.
Product differentiation and advertisement: From mass production to mass personalization - Vertical and horizontal differentiation - Natural and strategic differentiation - The advertisement and its functions.
R&D and technological innovation: The information paradox - Intellectual property right protection tools - Patenting - Markets for technology - Innovation and market structures - Pioneers and followers - Open innovation - Innovation systems.
PART 3: INDUSTRIAL POLICY (about 17 hrs)
Evolution of the industrial policy debate: Definition - Targets and objectives - Historical evolution of the debate.
Motivations for industrial policy: Market failures and antitrust - Externalities - Public goods - Information asymmetries - Non competitive markets - Competition policies - Strategic economic objectives - Selective policies - Metaeconomic objectives.
Market failure and remedies: Definitions - Inner government failures - External government failures - Beyond market failures. Didactic methods
- The course includes lectures illustrating the main theoretical concepts, but also a frequent use of examples related to industrial economics and policy. Interaction with students is strongly promoted during the lesson.
Learning assessment procedures
- Students' preparation will be verified by means of a final written exam with multiple choice questions.
Attending students can divide the exam into two partial exams, made of 8 questions each. Each question foresees 4 options:
- 1 right answer (2 points);
- 2 wrong answers (0 points) ;
- 1 particularly wrong answer (-2 points) (some questions might not have this option. In this case, there will be 3 answers with a value of 0).
The final mark will be given by the sum of the results of the two partial exams.
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS (or attending students who do not want to take partial exams) will have to take one exam with 16 multiple questions. Each question foresees 4 options:
- 1 right answer (2 points);
- 2 wrong answers (0 points) ;
- 1 particularly wrong answer (-2 points) (some questions might not have this option. In this case, there will be 3 answers with a value of 0).
Exam dates are available at this address https://studiare.unife.it
The exam enrollment has to be done before the exam date by visiting the website https:// studiare.unife.it. It will not be possible to enrol after the closure of the online lists. Please note that such a closure usually takes place about ONE WEEK before the exam date, in order to allow a good organization of the exam sessions.
Students passing the exam show to have acquired the knowledge and abilities specified in the teaching aims. In particular, questions are aimed at evaluating the level of acquired knowledge and the capacity to face the issues related to industrial economics and policy. Reference texts
- Textbook:
Di Tommaso M.R., Rubini L., Barbieri E. e Tassinari M. (2021) Economia e politica industriale: Organizzazione della produzione, innovazione e politiche di interesse pubblico, Bologna, Il Mulino.
Students have to study the whole book, except for the following parts:
- par. 3.4 in chapter III;
- par. 6.2 in chapter VI;
- parr. 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6 in chapter VIII;
- par 9.4.2 and 9.4.3 in chapter IX;
- par. 10.6 in chapter X;
- parr. 11.3.2; 11.3.3, 11.3.4, 11.3.5, 11.8 and 11.9 in chapter XI;
- the whole chapter XII;
- parr. 13.1.1.2, 13.1.2.2. and 13.1.3.1 in chapter XIII;
- parr. 14.2, 14.3 and 14.4 in chapter XIV;
- par. 16.6.2 in chapter XVI.
