Objectifs

This course covers core topics of the economics of regulation (regulation of natural monopolies or network industries), as well as a broader range of topics on the role of government in steering economic activities.

The goal of this course is to understand the concept of market failures as a precondition for regulatory interventions. Students are familiar with the various sources of market failures and the regulatory interventions designed to correct them. Students know the problems associated with regulatory interventions, like e.g. rent seeking, regulatory capture.

Contenus

The course starts with an introduction into industrial organization and core concepts of game theory. We discuss the theoretical arguments in favor of free, unregulated markets as an institutional arrangement to guide allocative processes (welfare theorems), and investigate the limitations in the presence of market power, externalities, or asymmetric information. The main part of the course deals with regulatory interventions in network industries, natural monopolies, as well as competitive markets. The final part of the course expands the scope of the topic and focuses on new developments in governmental regulations such as nudges to correct for suboptimal behavior in individual choice. Finally we look at the controversy between proponents and opponents of regulatory interventions.

Références

For the lack of a good textbook readings for this course consist of a number of scientific articles. The following articles are required reading. Further required reading will be announced in class.

Armstrong, M., & Sappington, D. E. M. (2007). Recent Developments in the Theory of Regulation. In Handbook of Industrial Organization (Vol. 3, pp. 1557–1700). http://doi.org/10.1016/S1573-448X(06)03027-5

Glaeser, E. L., & Shleifer, A. (2003). The Rise of the Regulatory State. Journal of Economic Literature, 41(2), 401–425. http://doi.org/10.1257/002205103765762725

Evaluation

1ère tentative

Examen:

Ecrit 2h00 heures

Documentation:

Non autorisée

Calculatrice:

Autorisée avec restrictions

Evaluation:

Grading depends on the written exam (75%) and a presentation in class with handout (25%). [ Calculatrice 4 opérations selon directive HEC ]

Rattrapage

Examen:

Ecrit 2h00 heures

Documentation:

Non autorisée

Calculatrice:

Autorisée avec restrictions

Evaluation:

Wrtitten exam [ Calculatrice 4 opérations selon directive HEC ]; 100% of the grade