MGTECON 620:
Economics of Electronic Commerce and the Internet
This course is designed to introduce students to research topics in electronic commerce and the economics of the internet. The primary audience is advanced graduate students in economics or closely related areas, but the course is also open to students from related fields such as computer science and operations provided students have completed graduate coursework in economics, game theory, and/or market design. The methodological focus is on applied economic theory models, empirical work, and field experiments. The course requires a literature review and research proposal, which will be presented to the class at the end of the term. Core topics include: economics of platform markets and multi-sided markets, with case studies including online advertising, online auctions, mobile computing, cloud computing, electronic and mobile payment systems, and media markets; markets for information; internet search, including specialized search platforms such as shopping and travel; the impact of the internet on the news media; and the impact of technological and business practice shifts on both old and new industries, including data-driven decision-making, machine learning, and increased reliance on experimentation. Other topics that may be selected according to student interest include social networks, social media, intellectual property and innovation, broader economic impacts of technological innovation, security, internet policy, the impact of the internet on education and health, privacy, and other regulatory issues surrounding the internet.
| Units: 4