Course Outcomes
Econ 420 students will be able to
- Demonstrate basic familiarity with the provisions of the principal Federal antitrust statutes, including the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, the FTC Act, the Robinson-Patman Act, and the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
- Evaluate the likely effects of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act using monopoly, Cournot, Stackelberg, and Bertrand models of non-cooperative behavior among a small number of rival firms.
- Evaluate the likely effects of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act using simple analytical models of predation, exclusion, tying, bundling.
- Evaluate the likely effects of laws limiting price discrimination, including the Robinson-Patman Act, using simple analytical models of price discrimination.
- Evaluate the likely effects of Section 7 of the Clayton Act and the HRS Act using simple analytical models of mergers.
- Evaluate public regulation of monopolies as an alternative to relying on antitrust law using simple analytical models of rate-of-return regulation, nonlinear pricing and peak load pricing.
- Synthesize the relevant economics and legal literature, including Federal and Supreme Court rulings, via a substantial survey paper on a specific antitrust issue.
