Duration
30h Th, 15h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in economics : general (120 ECTS) | 5 crédits | |||
| Master in economics : general (60 ECTS) | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Today, big tech platforms are among the largest market capitalisation worldwide (Apple 1, Microsoft 2, Alphabet 3, Amazon 4 and Facebook 6). They all managed to create strong market position and enjoy dominant positions on many segments of the market. Furthermore, they have entered many segments of our daily life and collect an unprecedent amount of data on consumers. Today these companies are accused of being BAADD-big, anti-competitive, addictive and destructive to democracy to take the words of the economist in January 2018. There is thus a fear that the tech titans use their power to protect and extend their dominance, to the detriment of consumers.
The behaviour of the big tech is now carefully scrutinized by regulators, notably competition watchdogs. And several high profile cases are currently investigated by Competition authorities, mainly in Europe. However, the traditional instruments of the antitrust toolkit are not well suited to understand and control big techs. For instance, most of their numerous acquisitions flew under the radar of merger control authorities.
Economists are investigating the behaviour of these big techs intensively and researchers have formalized detailed analysis of their conduct and some of them are giving advices and guidance to regulators and firms. And, today, economic analysis (as students do in class) is at the heart of the debate on tech giants.
Because of these huge competitive concerns, this year the course of Economic of Competition and Regulation will focus on regulating big techs.
The course will be divided in three parts. In part I, I will teach the main concepts of competition policy and the main features of digital economy (6 sessions). In part II, students will be asked to present a part of report commissioned by the European Commission on 'Competition Policy for the Digital Area'. Finally, Part III will be a case study.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
Be able to use simplified economic and econometric models to understand a real-world problem in the fields of competition and regulation.
ILO: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
This course is a master 2 course in economics and students need a strong economic background to enrol. In particular, students should have followed the following courses:
-Industrial organization (Models of oligopoly)
-Game theory (Nash equilibrium)
-Econometrics (OLS at least)
-Microeconomics (Utility maximization, consumer surplus, profit maximization, cost functions, etc.)
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Teaching sessions (live): slides + reading list + online material + press coverage
Material and reading lists will be provided for the presentation by the students and the case.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Live - podcast will be available if possible and necessary
Organisational adjustments related to the current health context
Recommended or required readings
Reading list (scientific articles) will be provided
Assessment methods and criteria
Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.
Students will be evaluated on the basis of their presentation of the report (25%) and the case analysis (75%). The case will be defended in an oral presentation. Students will work in group for the case and the presentation.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
This course will be given in English
Classes on Wednesday 9am-12.30pm (Q1)
Slides and readings are available on line
Contacts
Lecturer: Axel GAUTIER Email: agautier@uliege.be Office I.49, BAT B31(ST) Tel: 04/366.30.53