BE 511: Business Economics II
Contents
Building on BE 510 Business Economics I, this module will provide an introduction to economic models of strategic decision-making and behavior of firms in the context of oligopolistic competition. Topics will include output and pricing strategies, the economics of collusion, market structure, market entry decisions and product differentiation. Some of these topics require a degree of analytical rigor and we will make use of some game-theoretical and mathematical methods.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module students will have
- the ability to apply economic reasoning in the context of oligopolistic competition,
- an understanding of model-based analytical methods and arguments,
- and familiarity with basic game-theoretic models of industrial organization.
Necessary prerequisites
–
Recommended prerequisites
Knowledge of introductory microeconomics at bachelor level, BE 510
| Forms of teaching and learning | Contact hours | Independent study time |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 SWS | 8 SWS |
| Exercise class | 2 SWS | 5 SWS |
| ECTS credits | 6 |
| Graded | yes |
| Workload | 180h |
| Language | English |
| Form of assessment | Written exam (90 min) |
| Restricted admission | no |
| Further information | – |
Examiner Performing lecturer |  | Prof. Nicolas Schutz, Ph.D. Lily Ling Yang, Ph.D. |
| Frequency of offering | Spring semester |
| Duration of module | 1 semester |
| Range of application | M.Sc. MMM, M.Sc. WiPäd |
| Preliminary course work | – |
| Program-specific Competency Goals | CG 1, CG 2 |
| Literature | Paul Belleflamme and Martin Peitz: Industrial Organization – Markets and Strategies |
| Course outline | Elementary Models Perfect competition, Monopoly, Cournot, Bertrand, Stackelberg competition, Market entry Product Differentiation Horizontal differentiation, Bowley model, hoteling model, vertical product differentiation Pricing Strategies and Price Discrimination Dynamic Monopoly Pricing, Group Pricing, Menu Pricing, Bundling |