INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION - 2020/1
Module code: ECO3041
Module Overview
Industrial Organisation (IO) attempts to describe the interaction of sellers (usually firms) and buyers (usually consumers) in different market environments. While previous microeconomic modules have focused on the extreme cases of monopoly and perfect competition, IO is mainly concerned with oligopoly, in particular the way firms compete with each other. ECO3041 is a theory-based optional module for final year BSc students. The aim is to provide a solid understanding of some of the core economic models of imperfect competition and to help students to understand contemporary issues in markets and strategies.
Module provider
Economics
Module Leader
RICKMAN Neil (Economics)
Number of Credits: 15
ECTS Credits: 7.5
Framework: FHEQ Level 6
Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A
Overall student workload
Independent Learning Hours: 118
Lecture Hours: 22
Tutorial Hours: 10
Module Availability
Semester 2
Prerequisites / Co-requisites
None
Module content
Indicative content includes:
- Monopoly behaviour
- Price discrimination and non-linear pricing
- Static oligopoly
- Dynamic oligopoly
- Product differentiation
- Advertising
- Innovation
Assessment pattern
| Assessment type | Unit of assessment | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| School-timetabled exam/test | CLASS TEST (75 MINUTES) | 40 |
| Examination | FINAL EXAM (120 MINUTES) | 60 |
Alternative Assessment
N/A
Assessment Strategy
The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of Industrial Organisation.
Thus the summative assessment for this module consists of:
- A class test: essay and exercise questions.
- Final exam of two hours: essay and exercise questions.
Formative assessment and feedback
Students will receive verbal feedback during lectures through direct questioning. After the class tests, the test questions, solutions, and main feedback (including typical mistakes) will be discussed in class. Comments on students' performance and guideline solutions to exercises will be posted in SurreyLearn. All this feedback will help students to judge their own performance and prepare for the final exam. In addition, students will be encouraged to attend office hours to receive further individual verbal feedback.
Module aims
- provide students with a working knowledge of current thinking in industrial organisation, and its application to business strategy, regulation and competition policy.
Learning outcomes
| Attributes Developed | ||
| 1 | Solve for optimal firm behaviour in strategic environments (C, K), including, where necessary differentiating, integrating and algebraically manipulating complex mathematical expressions | T |
| 2 | Present technical arguments in a clear form | CPT |
| 3 | Understand the real world behaviour of firms and the strategic environments they face | KCP |
| 4 | Assess the welfare consequences of different competition structures, and suggest remedies for restoring the social optimum | KCP |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Methods of Teaching / Learning
The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:
- enhance skills in analytical thinking and problem solving
- appreciate the complexities of decision making, weighing theory and practice
The learning and teaching methods include:
- 2 hour lectures/classes x 11 weeks (including in-class discussions)
- 2 hour tutorial x 5 weeks
- 118 hours of independent learning
Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.
Reading list
https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ECO3041
Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.