Results for MGTECON

This course covers microeconomic concepts relevant to managerial decision making. Topics include: demand and supply analysis; consumer demand theory; production theory; price discrimination; perfect competition; partial equilibrium welfare analysis; externalities and public goods; risk aversion and risk sharing; hidden information and signaling; moral hazard and incentives; game theory; oligopoly; and transaction cost economics.

MGTECON 203 is the accelerated option in microeconomics for 1st year MBA students. It will cover the usual array of topics, with an emphasis on topics more useful for students of management (although the order in which the topics are covered will be different from that in 200). No previous background in economics is required or expected, but in comparison with MGTECON 200, less time will be spent in class on basic problems. Therefore, students choosing this option should be completely comfortable with calculus and linear algebra. A good diagnostic is to read Sections 3.5 and 3.6 (pp. 57-67) in Kreps, Microeconomics for Managers. If you find this easy, 203 is a good choice. If not, 200 is the right course for you. Students with extensive background in microeconomics should take one of the Advanced Applications options; in particular, MGTECON 203 is NOT a good fit for students who have an undergraduate major in economics.

This course is an introduction to Microeconomics, focusing on microeconomic concepts relevant to managerial decision making. Topics include demand and supply, cost structure, price discrimination, perfect competition, externalities, and the basics of game theory. No prior Economics background is required but students who have not had courses in this area (or not had one in a very long time) may want to brush up on math prior to the start of classes.

This course gives students the background they need to understand the broad movements in the global economy. Key topics include long-run economic growth, technological change, wage inequality, international trade, interest rates, inflation, exchange rates, and monetary policy. By the end of the course, students should be able to read and understand the discussions of economic issues in The Economist, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, or the Congressional Budget Office.

This is an advanced applications economics course that applies recent innovations and high-powered tools to organization and general management. MBA1 students must have a strong background in microeconomics to take the course and should consult with their advisors. The course is appropriate for MBA2 students who have taken either Mgtecon 200 or Mgtecon 203. The course objective is to equip managers with an extensive set of analytical and applicable tools for handling the following topics: organization for coordination, designing incentives for moral hazard, monitoring and private information, applications to scope, scale, global management and mergers, principles for allocating decision power, managing supplier relations, downstream controls, franchising and alliances, bargaining, high order reasoning, repeated interactions and reputation, holdups and strategizing with unawareness. These topics will be covered in a combination of lectures and cases.

This course provides the legal, instititional, and economic background necessary to understand the financing and production of health services in the US. Potential topics include: health reform, health insurance (Medicare and Medicaid, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured), medical malpractice and quality regulation, pharmaceuticals, the corporate practice of medicine, regulation of fraud and abuse, and international comparisons.

For graduate students. The principal evaluative techniques for health care, including utility assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and decision analysis. Emphasis is on the practical application of these techniques. Group project presented at end of quarter. Guest lectures by experts from the medical school, pharmaceutical industry, health care plans, and government.

This class will focus on the evolution of the financial crisis and the implications for the future of financial markets and the economy. Part of the course will concern the history of the financial crisis, from 2008-12, including policy responses. The rest will focus on current events. There will be a number of guest speakers, either live or by Skype. Last year's list included Tanya Beder, John Geanakoplos, Bob Joss, Tom Kempner, Ken Rogoff, Larry Summers, Kevin Warsh, and Nancy Zimmerman. Myron Scholes participated in about half the classes. I assume that this year there will be a similar but not identical list.

Economic issues permeate all that happens in government. This topics-based course will exam a variety of historic and current issues on the political agenda where economics is central to decision making. It is taught by faculty who served at the White House in either the Clinton or George W. Bush Administration.

This class will explore the economics of the internet search business. The class will consist of lectures, guest speakers, and short student presentations. The course will begin with an overview of internet search, including the technology and engineering as well as the role of search for consumers, in society and the internet industry. We will then study search as a platform market, considering the interaction between the different sides of the market (users, advertisers, and publishers) as well as competition across platforms on different sides of the market. The advertising marketplace will receive special focus, including the design of the auction. We will also study the role of search in the internet ecosystem, examining recent trends towards vertical integration and its impact on the development of independent internet products and services. Finally we will address search as a data-driven business. Throughout, the course will draw parallels to other internet platform businesses, using search as an in-depth case study through which broader themes can be understood.

This class will analyze the economics of internet platform markets. The class format will consist of lectures, guest speakers, and student presentations. The course will begin with economic definitions of platform markets, and it will review the most important insights from recent economic theory. It will then consider the role of scale economies and network effects in determining the dynamics of platform competition and long-run industry structure. Next, the class will consider key strategic decisions for firms, including vertical integration and exclusive deals, and it will touch on antitrust considerations. Special topics that may be covered according to class interest include the issues that arise when taking a data-driven approach to managing a platform business; the economics of the media, particularly news; regulatory issues such as privacy, intellectual property, and antitrust. Student presentations and guest speakers will consider case studies of particular platform businesses, such as auction markets for goods and services, internet retail, online advertising, social networks, the news media, technology platforms such as personal computers, mobile devices, and cloud computing.

Most statistical questions involving data ultimately are about causal effects. What is the effect of changing prices on demand? What is the effect of an advertising campaign on demand. In this course we discuss statistical methods for analyzing causal effects. We look at the analysis and design of randomized experiments. We also look at various methods that have been used to establish causal effects in observational studies. students will develop the skills to assess causal claims and learn to ask the right questions and evaluate statistical analyses. You will carry out research projects and work with statistical software.

This course provides an introduction to the foundations of modern microeconomic theory. Topics include choice theory, with and without uncertainty, consumer and producer theory, dynamic choice and dynamic programming, social choice and efficiency, and fundamentals of general equilibrium.nnnStudents interested in this course should consult the instructor by email: kreps@stanford.edu

This course studies the roles of information, incentives and strategic behavior in markets. The rudiments of game theory are developed and applied to selected topics regarding auctions, bargaining, and firms' competitive strategies; information economics; and contracting and market design.

This course covers auction theory, matching, and related parts of the literature on bargaining and pricing. Key papers in the early part of the course are Myerson and Satterthwaite on bargaining, Myerson on optimal auctions, and Milgrom and Weber's classic work. We then turn to markets in which complicated preferences and constraints, limitations on the use of cash, or variations in contract details among bidders play an important role. Emphasis is on matching markets such as the National Resident Matching Program and asset auctions such as the spectrum auctions.

This is the first course in the sequence in graduate econometrics. The course covers some of the probabilistic and statistical underpinnings of econometrics, and explore in depth the large-sample properties of maximum likelihood estimators. You are assumed to have introductory probability and statistics and matrix theory, and to have exposure to basic real analysis. Topics covered in the course include random variables, distribution functions, functions of random variables, expectations, conditional probabilities and Bayes' law, convergence and limit laws, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and maximum likelihood estimation.

This course presents a comprehensive treatment of econometric methods used in economics, finance, marketing, and other management disciplines. Among the topics covered are: the classical linear regression analysis, linear simultaneous equations systems, panel data models, generalized method of moments, selection models, and limited dependent variable models. This course uses Matlab or similar computational software, but previous experience with such software is not a prerequisite. This course assumes working knowledge of undergraduate econometrics, basic linear algebra, basic probability theory, and statistics that are covered in MGTECON 603. Those who did not take MGTECON 603 or similar should see the instructor.

This course completes the first-year sequence in econometrics. The course develops nonlinear models in more detail, as well as methods used to estimate nonlinear models, including maximum likelihood and moment-based estimators such as GMM. The instructor will discuss both theoretical properties of these estimators and how they are used in practice. Computational challenges and issues are explored in detail. Depending on student and instructor interest, we will consider advanced topics and applications, including: semiparametric, nonparametric, and simulation estimators.

This course will be a first quarter PhD course in microeconomic theory, aimed at PhD students who do not plan to become professional economists. Relative to a course geared to economics PhDs the class will differ in two important ways. First, there will be almost no emphasis on proofs. Second, the topics covered will be broader than the standard set covered in say Econ 202.

Students and faculty review and present recent research papers on basic theories and economic applications of decision theory, game theory and mechanism design. Applications include market design and analyses of incentives and strategic behavior in markets, and selected topics such as auctions, bargaining, contracting, signaling, and computation.

This course covers various topics in macroeconomics and is designed to expose students to macroeconomic methods, classic papers in the field, and the latest research at the frontier. The current focus is on economic growth. Using theoretical and empirical tools, we consider questions like: How do we understand long-run growth in per capita income? Why are some countries so much richer than others? Other topics include misallocation as a source of TFP differences, the direction of technical change, growth and the environment, the rise in health spending, patenting, and international trade.nnnThis course satisfies the GSB PhD macro requirement.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to current research topics and open issues related to the role of information in markets and other economic mechanisms. Topics may include: information aggregation in prediction markets and other mechanisms, microstructure of financial markets, forecast testing, scoring mechanisms, information in auctions, information in e-commerce and novel marketplaces.nn

This is an advanced game theory course and requires a basic background in game theory or an advanced applied game theory course. The course covers foundational topics such as type spaces, modeling reasoning and rationality, game forms, solution refinements and more. A collection of additional topics will be covered independently via problem solving assignments in workshop style meetings with student presentations.

This course is intended to be an introduction to dynamic political economy theory. We will cover research at the frontier of this field and some useful tools. Tools will be primarily dynamic game theory - including Markov models and models of reputation. Topics covered will include dynamic legislative bargaining, dynamic coalition formation, endogenous institutions, endogenous policy formation, and private politics.

This course meets weekly on Tuesdays at Noon. The primary purpose of the course is to read and discuss current working papers in Industrial Organization and related fields (e.g., Econometrics, Marketing, and Labor). Students are required to present papers at least once per year and both students and faculty may also present their own working papers.

Each week, a different economics faculty member will discuss his or her important and /or current research. The course is an important introduction to PhD level research topics and techniques. Attendance is mandatory.

This is an advanced course on quantitative methods for empirical research. Students are expected to have taken a course in linear models before. In this course I will discuss modern econometric methods for nonlinear models, including maximum likelihood and generalized method of moments. The emphasis will be on how these methods are used in sophisticated empirical work in social sciences. Special topics include discrete choice models and methods for estimating treatment effects.

This course is offered for students requiring specialized training in an area not covered by existing courses. To register, a student must obtain permission from the faculty member who is willing to supervise the reading.

This course is elected as soon as a student is ready to begin research for the dissertation, usually shortly after admission to candidacy. To register, a student must obtain permission from the faculty member who is willing to supervise the research.

The objective of this course is to give students an understanding of what international trade policy means for business leaders. To do this, students will have to understand the economic forces that determine the patterns and consequences of international trade. We will analyze trade policy tools used by governments (e.g., tariffs, subsidies and quotas), and examine the role of industry and politics at the domestic and global level in applying these tools. This course will combine lecture, case studies and group interaction.

This course focuses on one question: How do organizations motivate their key employees to provide consummate effort? By consummate effort, we mean effort above and beyond what is normal or expected, with particular emphasis on cases where the key employees are knowledge workers performing ambiguous and creative tasks.nnnWe will begin with three weeks or so of twice-weekly class sessions, at which different theories of motivation will be explored as theories and as practiced in case studies. This will include both the economic theory of incentives, but also social psychological theories of motivation and, in particular, on when and how economic forces and social psychological forces come into conflict and when and how they can be marshaled together.nnnDuring this initial three-week period, students in course will organize themselves into teams of 3 to 5 students. Each team will identify a organization or related group of organizations (say, several firms inside the same niche in an industry), and during weeks 4 through 7 of the quarter, each team will investigate how the organization(s) they are studying answer the basic question. Students will be expected to relate what they find to the theoretical constructs of the early part of the quarter. During this period, each team will meet at least weekly with the instructor to review progress achieved and to plan next steps. nnnIn the final two weeks or so (depending on the number of teams), teams will present what they have learned about the organizations they are studying to their peers. Each team will make a presentation of 45 minutes to an hour. These presentations should include a full analysis of the organization(s) (any relevant history, business model and strategy, and so forth). They should then answer the basic question, giving to the greatest extent possible tangible measures and evidence for their assertions. This will be followed by a Q&A from the other members of the class, exploring what the teams have presented.nnnEach team will be expected to prepare a written "case-let" of their findings, to be circulated to other members of the class at least three days prior to the in-class discussion. nnnOrganizations to be studied must be existing organizations. Teams will NOT be allowed to present "designs" for organizations that they are in the process of founding or that they hope to found. There must be evidence---anecdotal at least, more systematic if possible---of how well the organization's approach to motivation is working.nnnOrganizations studied should consent to be "used" in this fashion, although you will be asked to try to gain permission for the case-lets and your presentations to be used more broadly in the GSB's curriculum. nnnThe instructor will attempt to "recruit" willing organizations, from which teams can choose, although it is equally preferable if not better for teams to identify on their own the organizations they will studied.nnnnGrades will be determined as follows:nnn20%--class participation in the first three weeks, with emphasis on contribution to case discussions.nn20%--group-assigned grade based on the written case-letnn30%--group-assigned grade based on the oral (in class) presentationnn20%--participation in the discussion of the presentations of other groups nn10%--based on an individual "final exam," in which students will be asked to write a short report (three to five pages, double spaced, 12pt) evaluating what they learned, with emphasis on what they consider is important in answering the basic question, on the basis of the course experience. This report will be due on the last day of final exams, may be prepared off campus and emailed in. Students are free to discuss these matters with one another, but each student is expected to be the sole author of his/her "final exam."nnnThere are no formal prerequisites for this course, but students considering this course will be well prepared if they have taken a course in human resource management. nnnThis course is a Bass Seminar and is limited to enrollment of 25 students. nnnPlease note: I have a reputation for requiring a LOT of work from students. This reputation is deserved. I have every intention of enhancing my reputation in this regard, in this course, so caveat discipulus. (Unhappily, you cannot access course evaluation data on the number of hours that students report they work, so you will have to take my word for it: My courses are in the far upper tail of the distribution. You can access data on the question on "Sets High Expectations." And I urge you to read ALL the entries on me at Course Unofficial for MGTECON 200 and 203.)nnnIf you have any questions, please contact me in the first instance via email, at kreps@stanford.edu.

The course will review the results from a large management practices project involving Harvard, the London School of Economics, McKinsey & Company and Stanford. McKinsey & Company have developed a basic management practice evaluation tool - detailing the 18 key practices in firms - which has been used to evaluate almost 10,000 organizations in manufacturing, retail, healthcare and education across the US, Europe, Asia, Australasia and South America. These results provide a global insight into the basic management practices around monitoring, targets and talent management that firms adopt around the world, their link to performance, and the reasons for differences in these across countries. This will be supplemented with the results from more recent research with Accenture and the World Bank in India carrying out change-management interventions. nnnFull syllabus and lectures from 2011 available here:nnhttp://www.stanford.edu/~nbloom/Course_591.zipnnn

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.

Management and provision non-renewable and renewable natural resources, with considerable attention to energy provision and use. Topics include: fisheries problems and policy; energy industry market structure, pricing, and performance; and policies to facilitate transitions from non-renewable to renewable energy.

This seminar will examine applications of labor economics to business issues and firms' practices. Material will include both theoretical and empirical work, and the syllabus will range from classics in Personnel Economics to current (unpublished) research. Some of the topics to be covered include, but are not limited to, compensation practices, assignment of decision rights, organizational structure, attracting, retaining, and displacing employees, and workplace practices (such as team-based organization, profit sharing, etc.)