The Economics of Industrial Organization

The study of industrial organization extends to the core of some of the most important questions of economics: Who controls markets and profits from them? Does competition or monopoly result in a more beneficial economy? How can the economic playing field become fairer or more biased in either direction? Throughout the field's history, various clashing schools of thought have attempted to sort through these complex issues, examining both abstract theory and real-life cases. Shepherd and Shepherd provide broad, balanced coverage of topics without showing preference to any single point of view, encouraging readers to think independently.

PARTI BASIC CONCEPTSCh.1 Basic Concepts and Debates Ch.2 Theories of Competition and MonopolyPARTII MARKET STRUCTURECh.3 Market Definition, Market Imperfections, and Degrees of CompetitionPARTIII PERFORMANCECh.4 Market Power’s Effects on Prices, Profits, and EfficiencyCh.5 Innovation, Fairness, and Other ValuePARTIV DETERMINANTS OF MARKET STRUCTURECh.6 Capital Markets, Mergers, and Other Influences on StructureCh.7 Economies and Diseconomies of ScalePARTV BEHAVIOR AND RELATED TOPICSCh.8 The Firm: Concepts and ConditionsCh.9 Monopoly, Dominance, and EntryCh.10 Price Discrimination and Predatory ActionsCh.11 Tight Oligopoly: Theories and Real-world PatternsCh.12 Vertical Conditions, Size and Diversification, and AdvertisingPARTVI INDUSTRY CASE STUDIESCh.13 Case Studies of Dominant FirmsCh.14 Case Studies of Tight OligopoliesPARTVII PUBLIC POLICIES TOWARD MONOPOLYCh.15 Antitrust Policies: Standards and MethodsCh.16 Antitrust Applied toward Dominance, Mergers, and ConductCh.17 Regulation, Deregulation, Public Enterprise, and PrivatizationCh.18 Further Study