This course provides an overview and introduction to government intervention in markets. The course focuses on antitrust and regulations as forms of government intervention. The course presents the economic rationale for government intervention in markets; when government intervention can "improve" the market outcome and that the benefits from intervening may not always outweigh the costs imposed by the intervention.
Upon succesful completion of this course, a student will be able to
1. Describe how government action relates to efficiency and equity of a political-economic system.
2. Discuss policies such as rent and price controls, natural monopoly regulation, criminal deterrence, and antitrust law.
3. Predict how laws and government regulations generate economic incentives and assess how those incentives affect social welfare.
4. Identify conditions under which government action can improve the efficiency and equity of a political-economic system.
5. Analyze the justification for and the consequences of such policies as rent and price controls, natural monopoly regulation, criminal deterrence, and antitrust law.