Welcome to the webpage fot this informal study group on IO topics, planned for Summer '07 @ MIT. This group is organized by Tatyana Deryugina and Mar Reguant, two first-years at the Department of Economics at MIT. We encourage the participation of graduate students in the department and also welcome students from other departments.
Meetings will be held Wednesdays and Fridays from 5pm to 7pm during the months of June, July and August. The location is room E52-398 (MIT Economics department).
"There is, in reality, no such thing as 'no regulation'. At the very least firms are subject to common and statutory law institutions affecting property rights, liability, and contracts." (from P.L. Joskow and N.L. Rose. 1989. "The Effects of Economic Regulation". In "Handbook of Industrial Organization", vol.2, edited by R. Schmalensee and R.D. Willig, Amsterdam: Elsevier North-Holland.)
The goal of this group is to gain more in-depth knowledge of the theory and practice of regulation and of particular areas in which regulation has been and is likely to be a major concern. We also hope to develop research ideas as well as allow students a chance to present and discuss their own research in this area.
This group is informal; we don't ask for commitment to attend all the meetings. If you are interested in presenting, however, let us know in advance. Everyone is welcome to do as much or as little as he or she desires. Although it is called an "IO" group, anyone interested in the topics covered is welcome and encouraged to come and participate!
The group will be structured so that every meeting there will be one or two presentations, either of individual papers (the presenter's own or another paper related to the topic) or of an area of research within the broader topic. Most of the presenters will be students, but we are planning on inviting at least one professor for each of the four sections to speak. The presentations will be informal; everyone will have a chance to ask questions or offer comments, and there will be a discussion following the presentation. Moreover, after the Friday meetings, we will all go out together to a place of our choosing.
In the first three weeks, we will be going over the basic rationales for regulating a market and some theoretical ways in which this can be accomplished. We will be focusing on solving the system and conditions under which a particular solution is implementable.
For each of the three topics sessions, we will be going over the basic structure and regulation issues of the industry. We will use the theory from the first part of the group to discuss implementable solutions (in conjunction with discussing empirical papers), practical data issues, and avenues for future research.
Due to time constraints, we will not be dealing with the political economy of regulation, although it will almost surely arise in discussions.
Suggestions and comments are not only appreciated, but necessary.