Brief Course Description
1. Course Title:
Industrial Organization
2. Language of Instruction:
Tiếng Việt
3. Course Code:
M00260
4. Credits:
3
5. Course Objectives:
6. Brief Description of Course Content:
Industrial Organization provides coverage of the latest theories of industrial organization, and it examines the latest theories concerning the strategies, behaviour and performance of firms and industries.
The course first lays out theoretical foundations by introducing some of the key elements of industrial organization, starting with the structure-conduct-performance paradigm, and examining a number of alternative theories of firm behaviour, including the neoclassical, managerial and behavioural theories, as well as perspectives drawn from transaction cost analysis, agency, knowledge- and resource- based theories.
Next, the course focuses on analyzing the structure of industry in order to shed a light on the role of the structural attributes of an industry in explaining the conduct of the industry’s constituent firms. Accordingly, non-collusive and collusive theories of oligopoly - a market structure whose most important characteristic is the small number of interdependent, competing firms - will be studied. It will also examine practical aspects of industry definition such as measures of industry or seller concentration and barriers to entry.
Based on the structural analysis of industry, the course shifts towards the newer theories of industrial organization that emphasise conduct or strategic decision-making at firm level. A number of pricing practices, including price discrimination and transfer pricing will be discussed. Moreover, firms also adopt various non-price strategies to improve their profitability or gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. The course therefore will discuss product differentiation, advertising, research and development, horizontal mergers, vertical integration, vertical restraints, and diversification.
Finally, the course concludes by providing key indicators that are used to measure the performance of firms and the industry in which the firms operate, including profitability, growth, product quality, technological progress, productive and allocative efficiency.