Review for Final Exam


The final exam is cumulative, covering all topics discussed in the course.

Economic theory of the firm

Demand, total revenue, marginal revenue
Types of costs: marginal, variable, fixed, average
Economies of scale
Transactions costs
Ownership and control of corporations
Hostile corporate takeovers
Advantages of mergers to the firm

Market structure

Competitive markets -- price-taking
Sellers' monopoly
Buyers' monopoly (monopsony)
Monopolistic competition
Oligopoly
Measures of market concentration -- CR4, HHI
Problems in markets with high fixed costs
Network economies
Vertical integration

Public policy towards market power

Sherman Act (1890): section 1 (attempts to monopolize) vs. section 2 (conspiracies)
Cartels -- price fixing, market division
per se antitrust violations
Mergers and public policy -- Clayton Act (1914, 1950)
FTC/Dept. of Justice merger guidelines
State and private enforcement of antitrust laws
Rate of return regulation
Cross-subsidization
Price discrimination

Corporate strategy and imperfect competition

Payoff matrixes
Dominant strategy; dominated strategy
Nash equilibrrium
Imperfect, incomplete, and asymmetric information
Prisoner's Dilemma
Cournot oligopoly model
Bertrand oligopoly model
Cartels, collusion, and cheating
Non-price strategies for deterring entry
Limit pricing
Predatory pricing
Advertising and product differentiation

Public policy and industry structure (beyond antitrust)

Limits on advertising
Research, development, and innovation
Technological change and market structure
Patents and copyrights
You are responsible for the application of all issues included in this review sheet to problems similar to the six assigned problem sets. You are also responsible for these issues as they specifically relate to your case study.