Næringsøkonomi og konkurransepolitikk

The purpose of the course is to give students a general introduction to the theory of industrial organisation and to competition policy.

The course deals with basic monopoly theory and theory of competition in markets with few firms (oligopoly theory). Students also receive an introduction to game theory to be able to analyse static and dynamic games. Selected parts of modern competition policy are reviewed.

A key theme in the course is market power and how it affects society and consumers. What happens to welfare when a monopolist charges different prices to different customers or markets (price discrimination), and what incentive does the monopolist have to offer products of good quality? In the course we also analyse, through various models for imperfect competition, how the order of moves and type of competition affect market outcomes.

Finally, we review selected competition policy topics such as mergers, vertical agreements and collusion, and their effect on the society and customers. We then use the learned theoretical concepts to analyse real-life competition policy cases.

A student who has completed the course should have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student

• Understand the concept of market power and what harmful effects this has for society and consumers, as well as what incentives companies with market power have.
• Has basic knowledge of competition policy and competition policy instruments.

Skills

The student

• Can use basic game theory to study strategic situations.
• Can use basic oligopoly theory to analyze strategic interaction in markets with imperfect competition.
• Can discuss how mergers, cartels and vertical agreements affect economic efficiency and welfare.
• Can apply the theoretical concepts learned in the course to analyse real-life competition authority case studies.

General competence

The student

• Can analyse real-life situations using theoretical concepts learned in economics and formulate the arguments in a written format
• Can participate constructively in discussions on their own and others' work