504web

Industrial Organization of the Food Industries (16:395:504)

Professor: Dr. Sanjib Bhuyan

Department of Agricultural, Food & Resource Economics

Cook Office Building, Cook Campus

Tel: (732) 932-9155, ext. 213

Pre-requisite: Graduate microeconomics.

Course Description and Objectives: This course is designed as a food industry and business-oriented industrial organization course with less emphasis on regulation and policy. This course will enable you to understand the firm organization and behavior in the U.S. food marketing system. The principal emphasis is on learning the latest theories and empirical evidence about the organization of firms and industries, including such exciting topics as structure-conduct-performance, strategic behavior (game theory), price discrimination, integration, welfare analysis of non-competitive markets, etc.

Course Topics

The Foundation:

1. Industrial organization - what, how, and why?

2. Food system industrial organization - what and why?

Market Structure Basics

1. Competition

2. Monopolies, Monopsonies, and Dominant Firms

Oligopoly and Game Theory

1. Oligopoly

2. Industry Structure and Performance

Strategies and Conduct

1. Price Discrimination

2. Predatory and Limit Pricing

3. Vertical Integration and Horizontal Merger

Non-price Competition

1. Advertising

2. R&D

Public Policy

1. Antitrust and Regulation

Research Project (a.k.a. "term paper"): Each student is to conduct an in-depth study of a particular problem or topic outlined below. Once a term paper topic is chosen, students need to use the RU libraries (mainly Alexander and Kilmer) and resources at their reference desks for research. These library resources will be of great help to during term paper research and reporting. At any time feel free to consult me for helpful information to save you time in your research.

Because of the time constraints generally faced by students during a semester, it is a good idea to start working on the term paper ASAP. If you have any questions or concerns, or are having problem with finding a topic or finding references, please consult the instructor immediately.

Term Paper Topics

1. Own topic: you may select your own topic, but it must relate to an industrial organization topic/issue. Please see me to discuss the specifics and possible references.

2. Survey paper: select a section of the course outline/readings that interest you and write a survey paper on that section. Explain the main issue and why it is important, outline the evolution of economists thinking on the subject, state our current knowledge on the subject, and indicate what is left to be studied or understood.

3. Industry study: this is like a in-depth case study with added analysis. Select a food industry (see me if you are not sure) and discuss the following- the structure and organization of the industry, including principal firms and their products; how the industry structure have changed over time, including concentration, and reasons for such change; how the changing industry structure is affecting the producers and consumers, including examination of welfare effects.

4. Method study: select a method of analyzing an aspect of market organization (e.g., market performance), develop economic and econometric models which are integral to this method, and show how it has been used to analyze that aspect of market organization in a particular industry. Explain why you think this industry needs to be studied.

5. Strategy study: select a market strategy, e.g., price discrimination, vertical restriction, product differentiation, and examine (with theory and empirical evidence) how firms use such strategies in the market and whether such strategies pay off, e.g., impact of advertising strategies on profitability, price, among others.

Back to Dr. Bhuyan's home page.