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ECON44215: INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION

It is possible that changes to modules or programmes might need to be made during the academic year, in response to the impact of Covid-19 and/or any further changes in public health advice.

Type Tied
Level 4
Credits 15
Availability Available in 2023/24
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Economics

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None

Aims

  • To develop advanced knowledge and analytical skills in the theory and practice of industrial organisation.

Content

  • The module focuses on market structures, strategic interaction between firms, and competition policy, in particular regulation. Topics may include:
  • Imperfect competition
  • Monopolistic competition
  • Oligopoly
  • Contestable markets and barriers to entry
  • Technology and innovation
  • Government regulation and competition policy

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • be able to interpret scholarly literature at the frontier of research in industrial organisation;
  • have explored, understood and appreciated the complexity and contradictions of the current academic literature and its implications for professional practice, and be able to identify open questions for their own research in industrial organisation.

Subject-specific Skills:

  • be able to apply advanced problem-solving and analytical skills to complex issues in industrial organisation;
  • be able to offer policy recommendations in the field of industrial organisation informed by the knowledge and analytical skills acquired in the module.

Key Skills:

  • Written Communication;
  • Planning, Organising and Time Management;
  • Problem Solving and Analysis;
  • Using initiative;
  • Numeracy;
  • Computer Literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • A combination of lectures, seminars and guided reading will contribute to achieving the aims and learning outcomes of this module. The seminars will train the students to solve analytical problems in the theory of industrial organisation, identify and critically discuss its applications as well as giving students opportunity to identify research questions.
  • The written examination will primarily test students knowledge and critical understanding of the material covered in the module in addition to their analytical and problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures101 per week2 hour20 
Seminars4Fortnightly1 hour4Yes
Revision Session1Once2 hour2 
Preparation & Reading124 
Total150 

Summative Assessment

Component: ExamComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
One written online examination2 hour, 3,000 words max100Same

Formative Assessment

One formative assessment to prepare students for the summative exam.

More information

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