Economics - Spring 1999

Course Description:
An analysis of the broad spectrum of issues affecting commercial uses of the Internet and the next-generation information infrastructure. Uses economics to examine market structure, pricing, quality, intellectual property rights, security, electronic payments and currencies, and public policy implications.
 
Prerequisites:
Economics 100A and Economics 100B, or consent of instructor.
 
Textbooks:
 
The Economics of Electronic Commerce, by Andrew B. Whinston, Dale O. Stahl, and Soon-Yong Choi: Macmillan Technical Publishing, 1997
 
Information Rules, by Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian, Harvard Business School Press, 1999
 
Course Requirements:
Midterm and Final Examinations.
 
Topics:

1. Characteristics of Digital Products and Processes; Internet Infrastructure and Pricing
2. Quality Uncertainty; Lemons Problems; Intermediaries; Contracts
3. Economic Aspects of Copyright Protection
4. Advertising; Signaling Product Information; Marketing Strategies; Consumer Search
5. Product Choices; Customization; Pricing and Price Discrimination
6. Standards, Compatibility, Customer Switching Costs and Lock-In Effects
7. Financial Intermediaries; Information Brokerage
8. Electronic Payment Systems; Digital Currencies
9. Business and Policy Implications; Taxation; Antitrust and Regulation
10. Future Directions

Revised 7/30/04.