INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION

Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Course code:

00052L

Academic Year of enrolment:

2021

Year of supply:

2023/2024

Type of Course:

Characterising

Degree:

Course of 1st Cycle Degree in BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Disciplinary Sector:

Applied Economics

Language:

Italian

Location:

PESCARA

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

Mazzocchitti Marialisa

Cycle:

Second semester

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

102

Prerequisites:

None

Objectives

EDUCATIONAL TARGETS
The objective of the course is to provide students with the theoretical and technical tools needed to: understand firms’ organizational and market choices; identify and analyze the ways through which firms’ competitive strategies interact with market structures and assess such iterative process. Particular attention is paid to factors such as incomplete information, transaction costs, mechanisms used by firms to move the competitive pressure to elements other than prices; deepen the ways of public intervention in the economy to deal with market failures.

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course students will possess the information and cognitive tools for:
-the assessment of the competition level as well as of the sectoral efficiency performance levels
- the assessment of the impact of firms’ behaviours on the competition level of the sector which they belong to
- evaluate the effects of firms’ strategic behaviours

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course students will be able to:
- identify/develop connections between microeconomic views of the behaviour of single firms and the competitive features of the sector which they belong to
- apply theoretical and applied knowledge to the identification of the main criticalities related to imperfect competition.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The following communication skills will be acquired by students at the end of the course:
- properly use the economic terminology
- rigorously outline and discuss the mathematical relations underlying the models studied

Contents

1. Introduction to the industrial organization
2. The firm and its costs
3. Perfect competition
4. Monopolies, monopsonies and dominant firms
5. Cartels
6. Oligopoly
7. Monopolistic competition and product differentiation
8. Industrial structure and performance
9. Price discrimination
10. Complex methods for price setting
11. Strategic behaviour
12. Vertical integration and vertical restrictions

Extended Syllabus

- Overview
- The Firm and Costs
- Competition
- Monopolies, Monopsonies, and Dominant Firms
- Cartels
- Oligopoly
- Product Differentiation and Monopolistic Competition
- Industry Structure and Performance
- Price Discrimination
- Advanced Topics in Pricing
- Strategic Behavior
- Vertical Integration and Vertical Restrictions

Recommended Bibliography

Carlton e Perloff, Organizzazione Industriale, 3a edizione, McGraw-Hill, 2013. Chapters from 1 to 12.

Methods of Provision

Conventional

Teaching Methods

Frontal classes.
Frontal classes will revolve around the theoretical topics and will be held by the teacher, with the occasional participation of business experts. Attendance is on a voluntary basis, but it is strongly encouraged.

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

The exam will consist of a written and an oral test.
The written test will consist of 12 multi-choice questions, 3 essay questions to be answered within a maximum number of words, and a written essay in which the student will be asked to analyze specific aspects of a topic. The total score for the written test is 33 marks. The test paper will explain how the marks are distributed, based on the relevance/complexity of each question.
The final mark of the written test will be given by the sum of the partial scores obtained.
The written test will last 60 minutes.
The oral test will consist of 3/5 questions aimed at verifying the knowledge of the material referred to, the communicative skills, the judgement autonomy and the comprehension skills. Particular attention will be given to the language used, at the capacity to establish links between different topics, and at the ability to critically interact on topics proposed by the examiner.
The oral test will be judged with a score on 30.
The final result will be given by the average of the marks obtained with written and oral test.
For students that will have participated in group works, the exam will include also the discussion of the work done. The score obtained in this discussion will be considered in the definition of the final marks.

Contacts/More Information

E-mail: marialisa.mazzocchitti@unich.it
Students reception days and hours: Wednesday 11:00-13:00
Students can also request an appointment via email for an in-person or remote (via Teams) meeting.
Please check updated information about students reception days and hours on https://www.dec.unich.it/home-mazzocchitti-marialisa-385

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Aree