Professor Christiaan Hogendorn
Fall 2018
Office Hours
M, T, W Th 1:05–2:20 in PAC 331.
If my door is open, I may be available, please knock. I also encourage appointments, talk to me before or after class or e-mail.
Course Assistant
Brian Oh will hold office hours Sunday and Tuesday at 7pm–8pm in PAC 136 to help you get unstuck with assignments and projects.
Grading Scale
I use the Hogie scale for grading: 0, 1, 2 (the “hurdle” level), 3, 4 (minor problems), or 5. To find your letter grade equivalent, divide by the number of questions or categories to get your average score on the 0–5 scale. Then convert according to: 4.5=A, 4.0=A-, 3.7=B+, 3.3=B, 3.0=B-, 2.7=C+. 2.3=C, 2.0=C-, 1.7=D+, 1.3=D, 1.0=D-. As a general grading philosophy, C grades are for memorizing, B grades are for reproducing, and A grades are for generalizing.
Projects will be evaluated in three categories: writing/coding/commenting, understanding of the model, and value added.
Assignments and presentations will receive a check minus, check, check |, or check plus. The 0–5 scale equivalents are: check plus, 4.5, check | 4.0, check 3.5, and check minus 2.5.
Requirements
Assignments: For each class, there will be a corresponding short assignment related to the reading. These can be done individually or by groups of up to three students. These must be printed and should be turned in at the end of class. If you turn them in after class, they receive a downgrade, e.g. check plus becomes check. On project days (see below) the assignment is to suggest how to improve the project as it stands and to suggest extensions to the project; these assignments can be turned in within 1 week from the project day. (20% of total grade)
Presentations: two randomly assigned presentations, done with a randomly-assigned partner, on an example that fits (as best as you can figure) the assignment of the day. We will always start with the example of the day. (20% of total grade)
Projects: three randomly assigned projects done in a randomly-assigned group of 4 students. These projects will take one (or more) of the assignments plus in-class extensions and apply it to one (or more) of the examples the presenters have given. The projects will consist of well-commented Mathematica code and an in-class workshop where you present and we all discuss your approach. (40% of total grade)
Final Project: an extended and updated version of one (or more) of the projects presented during the course. You can work on a project you presented or someone else’s. You must respond to the comments made during the project presentation, and you must extend the project using ideas and examples from the course as a whole. The final product will be a well-commented Mathematica code. You can work singly or with a partner that you select. (20% of total grade, and if higher than your lowest project grade, replaces that project grade.)
Preparation and participation. Students are expected to read required readings, do the assignments, listen carefully to in-class presentations, and ask lots of questions. Positive points would come from clarifying questions and helpful discussion, especially of other student’s work. Negative points would come from distracting other students through using a phone or computer for things other than taking notes. (An up to plus-or-minus 1 point adjustment to the average of the above, re-averaged into the total with a 20% weight)
Accessibility Services
Wesleyan University is committed to ensuring that all qualified students with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from its programs and services. To receive accommodations, a student must have a documented disability as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and provide documentation of the disability. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible.
If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact Dean Patey in Accessibility Services (accessibility@wesleyan.edu), located in North College, Room 021, or call 860/685–5581 for an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations.
BP = Paul Belleflamme and Martin Peitz, Industrial Organization:
Markets and Strategies, Cambridge, 2015
Items marked with ! are not yet available.
○ Items with an open circle are just for background, not required.
| Sept. 3 M | 1. Introduction ● BP Chapter 1 |
| Sept. 5 W | 2. Consumers, Demand, and Monopoly ● BP Chapter 2: 2.1 Assignment 2 due. Answers |
| Sept. 10 M | 3. Monopoly, Markets, Duopoly ● BP Appendix A: A.1 and A.2 ● BP Chapter 2: 2.2 and 2.3 Assignment 3 due. Answers Presenters Yuhan, Scott |
| 4. Cournot Competition ● BP Chapter 3: 3.2 ● Assignment 4 due. Answers Presenters Alessandro, Jake: Commercial Airliners |
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| Sept. 17 M | 5. Introduction to Mathematica ● How to Install Mathematica at Wesleyan ● Watch this Video. ● Run this Notebook line-by-line in Mathematica using shift-enter. ○ Notebook from Class |
| Sept. 19 W | 6. Leader-Follower Competition ● BP Chapter 4: 4.1 ● Assignment 6 due. Notebook Presenters Rachel, Ana: Cloud Computing |
| Sept. 24 M | 7. Free Entry and Business Stealing ● BP Chapter 4: 4.2 ● Assignment 7 due. Notebook. Presenters Ella, Linda: MRIs |
| Sept. 26 W | 8. Price Discrimination ● BP Chapter 8: 8.1 and 8.2 ● Assignment 8 due. Notebook Presenters Saki, Brandon: Google ads |
| Oct. 1 M | 9. Bertrand Competition ● BP Chapter 3: 3.1 and 3.3 ● Assignment 9 due. Notebook Presenters Jacob, Karl: Streaming Music |
| Oct. 3 W | 10. Hotelling ● BP Chapter 5: 5.1 and 5.2 ● Assignment 10 due. Notebook Presenters Isaiah, Saaria: Home Depot and Lowes |
| Oct. 8 M | 11. Projects 1,2,3 Boeing/Airbus: Saaria, Jacob, Peter, Alessandro, Scott. Comments. Google Ads: Ella, Brandon, Jake, Linda, Eddie. Comments. Bikesharing: Rachel, Josh, Isaiah, Sam, Yuhan. Comments. |
| 12 Switching Costs ● BP Chapter 7: 7.2.1 ● Assignment 12 due. Notebook Presenters Josh, Eddie: AT&T and Verizon |
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| 13. Strategic Substitutes and Complements ● BP Chapter 3: 3.4 and 3.5 ● Assignment 13 due. Notebook Presenters Peter, Sam: Fireworks |
| 14. Cournot Mergers ● BP Chapter 15: 15.1 and 15.2 ● Assignment 14 due. Notebook Presenters Shabab, Alessandro: Beer |
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| Fall Break | |
| Oct. 25 W | 15. Bertrand Mergers: Unilateral and Coordinated Effects ● BP Chapter 15: 15.3 and 15.4 ○ Willig, R. (2011). “Unilateral Competitive Effects of Mergers: Upward Pricing Pressure, Product Quality, and Other Extensions.” Review of Industrial Organization, 39(1), 19–38. ● Assignment 15 due. Notebook Presenters Linda, Brandon: GE and Agfa |
| Oct. 29 M | 16. Entry-Related Strategies ● BP Chapter 16: 16.1 ● Assignment 16 due. Notebook Presenters Jake, Josh: BA and Virgin Atlantic |
| Oct. 31 W | 17. Projects 4,5,6 Home Depot and Lowes: Shabab, Ana, Saki, Karl AT&T and Verizon: Eddie, Jacob, Yuhan, Rachel, Peter. Comments. Beer: Joshua, Sam, Ella, Brandon, Jake |
| Nov. 5 M | 18. Capacity and Entry Deterrence ● BP Chapter 16: 16.2 ● Assignment 18 due. Notebook Presenters Yuhan, Jacob: Casinos |
| Nov. 7 W | 19. Direct Network Effects ● BP Chapter 20: 20.1 and 20.2 ● Assignment 19 due. Notebook Presenters Karl, Saaria: Waze and Google Maps |
| Nov. 12 M | 20. Compatibility and Networks ● BP Chapter 20, Section 20.3.2. ● BP Chapter 21 ● Assignment 20 due. Notebook Presenters Rachel, Peter: Virtual Reality |
| 21. Projects 7,8,9 GE and Afga: Ana, Isaiah, Linda, Shabab, Alessandro. Comments. BA and Virgin Atlantic: Saki, Karl, Scott, Saaria. Comments. Casinos: Eddie, Josh, Jake, Ella, Sam. Comments. |
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| Nov. 19 M | 22. Dealers Versus Platforms ● BP Chapter 22: 22.1 ● Assignment 22 due. Notebook Presenters Ella, Shabab: Steam |
| Thanksgiving Recess | |
| Nov. 26 M | Class Cancelled |
| Nov. 29 W | 23. Two-Sided Platforms ● BP Chapter 22: 22.3 ○ Marc Rysman, “The Economics of Two-Sided Markets,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23(3) 2009: 125–143. ● Assignment 23 due. Notebook Presenters Saki, Eddie, Scott: Credit Cards |
| Dec. 4 M | 24. Infomediaries ● BP Chapter 23: 23.1 Assignment 24 due. !Notebook Presenters Ana, Isaiah, Sam: Travel Sites |
| Dec. 6 W | 25. Projects 10,11,12 Waze: Yuhan, Saki, Karl, Rachel, Isaiah. Comments. Slides. Virtual Reality: Brandon, Peter, Alessandro, Ana. Comments. Steam: Linda, Scott, Saaria, Shabab, Jacob. Comments. |