The course will provide in-depth survey of modern methodologies in theoretical industrial organization applied to the analysis of competition policy.

Knowledge and understanding: The student - by participating in the lectures and practical activities of the course - will have developed the ability to understand how to apply the models developed by the literature in industrial organization to the analysis of competition policy. Applying knowledge and understanding: The student - acquiring the correct tools and method - will be able to interpret, apply, and present the reference interpretative models, but also develop practical projects. At the end of the course, there will be a written test where the student will be asked to apply the knowledge acquired during the course. Making judgements: The student, through the use of the methodologies acquired during the course, will have acquired problem analysis skills and the ability to identify the information necessary for their solution. Specifically, critical thinking, problem solving, self-management, teamwork, relationship and communication skills will be adequately developed, which enhance and make the disciplinary skills more usable. Communication skills: At the end of the course, the student will be able to use the business and technical vocabulary of industrial organization and competition policy, addressing the legal issues at hand with terminological accuracy. Through the various activities that will take place during the course – lessons with discussion, moot courts, workshops – the student will be able to put these communication skills into practice in various contexts, by adapting the terms used to the interlocutor in the specific case, thus gaining advanced rhetorical skills necessary for his/her professional career. Learning skills: The technical-economic knowledge acquired during the course will allow the student to autonomously understand and interpret the techniques used in industrial organization and competition policy and adapt them to the specific reference context. The student will develop a solid knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the subject that will allow him to continue to deepen the topics addressed independently and to undertake the various post-graduate professional training courses.

The course will rely on two textbooks. For most basic concepts, I will keep lecture notes as close as possible to the notation/logic adopted by following textbook (which you can freely download by clicking on the hyperlink): Jeffrey Church and Roger Ware: Industrial Organization: A Strategic Approach, McGraw Hill, 2000 (https://works.bepress.com/jeffrey_church/23/) A solution manual for the textbook’s problem sets is also easily available. Students are strongly advised to use it only after having (seriously) tried to solve those exercises that will be included in the problem sets. Most of the material on “antitrust economics is based on the following textbook, which I strongly advice students to purchase: Chiara Fumagalli, Massimo Motta and Claudio Calcagno: Exclusionary Practices – The Economics of Monopolisation and Abuse of Dominance (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/exclusionary-practices/AC0652A15F36536280BAD10F8A2EBC25) (https://www.amazon.it/Exclusionary-Practices-Economics-Monopolisation-Dominance/dp/1107608961?ref_=nav_signin) For all remaining topics, I will make lecture notes available on the course website.

Traditional lectures – exercise classes – presentations by experts and students – business cases

The exam accounts for 70% of the final grade. The written exam consists of a mix of open-ended questions, multiple choice questions, and exercises, with which the student has to demonstrate knowledge of the theoretical notions of teaching, knowing how to apply them in practical cases demonstrating that he has achieved the method of study and the learning ability necessary to continue the study of the subject autonomously. The exact combination of each type of question will be decided by the lecturer during the course. Participation will be valued based on in-class challenges and surveys, on top of active involvement during in-class discussions on the material or the projects presented by students. Overall, participation will account for 15% of the final grade. The remaining 15% of the grade (for those who do the midterm) is based on a case presentation on the last part of the course (on competition policy). The failure to achieve at least the score of 18/30 will fail to pass the exam. Correct answers to all multiple-choice questions, an excellent level of preparation in all open questions, the correct execution of all the exercises, and excellent execution of the mid-term exam will result in a score of 30/30 cum laude.