Current Issues

  • There is still room for more participants in this seminar.
  • Right now it is not yet possible to register for this seminar via the Hochschulportal. If you want to secure yourself a place in the seminar, please send an E-Mail to Martin Kies.
  • The - non-mandatory - preliminary discussion of this seminar will be in the room 1.29 of the Helmholtzstr. 18, 2014-02-05T18:00 (i.e. 6 p.m. local time at the 5th of February 2014). If you can't come but want to participate in the seminar, please send an E-Mail to Martin Kies.
  • The final date of registration is not yet determined.
  • The date of the presentation is not yet determined. One very likely date is the 2014-06-27.
  • The date of the final submission of your seminar thesis is not yet determined. It will be after the exams of the summer term 2014 though.
  • Please register for this seminar via moodle (Tbd).

Basic Information

In this seminar you (and a possible partner) will chose a competition case investigated by the European Commission. Your task is to present this case, to analyse it and discuss it from an economic point of view.

This seminar is available for all students of an masters course in Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Wirtschaftsmathematik, Wirtschaftsphysik, Wirtschaftschemie and Master of Finance*. This seminar can be claimed as an elective subject in Economics and regarding the specialisation module Economics (6 credit points). If you are a student of a bachelor course, you may have a look at the seminar of competition policy.

* Regarding Master of Finance: Participants in the Master of Finance program are required to use English for their presentation and seminar thesis. Additionally they should choose a competition case which is associated with a financial institution or the financial markets.  The following list refers to appropriate cases:http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/financial_services/cases.html

This seminar will be done in teams of two. You may chose your partner as you wish. If you refrain from doing so, we will group you.

Requirements to get credits

In order to successfully complete the seminar, to you have to do a presentation of your competition case and a subsequent discussion. Additionally you should prepare a seminar thesis (essay) regarding your case.

Regarding the presentation:

  • 50% - 75% Description of the case and the decision: Explain well the main aspects and background
  • 25% - 50% Own contribution
    • A contribution that goes beyond the description of the content of the EU commission's decisions
    • Examples for own contribution
      • Brief description of an economic model dealing with one aspect of the cases (e.g. exclusive dealing, predatory pricing, bundling & tying, price discrimination, cartel formation, etc) and discussion in how far the assumptions of the model fit to the current case. Motta's textbook (see below) can be very helpful.
      • Variation of point 1: Assume you are in the role of a consultant for the firm and based on an economic model you argue why the behavior of the firm should be allowed because it does not decrease total welfare. (Of course, you can also take an opposite position, e.g. in the role of a consultant of a damaged customer.)
      • You compare the case with a related competition case and discuss the differences in the economic sitution, firm behavior and decision.
  • Last slide: A statement or question to the audience that can be used as starting point of a discussion

The presentation including the discussion should last around 50 minutes. More detailed information can be found in this guideline.

Regarding the seminar thesis: 

  • Main part (10 - 15 pages):
    • ca. 1/2 a page at the beginning: Very brief overview of the case and your own contribution
    • 50% - 75% Description of the case and the decision: Explain well the main aspects and background
    • 25% - 50% Own contribution (see examples in the section presentation)
  • Bibliography and Appendix (does not count for the 15 pages limit)
    • Bibliography: A list of all cited sources
    • Appendix: Possibility to add background material like tables, figures or detailed calculations

Subordinate to the rules above you have to consider the official rules regarding a seminar thesis of the institute of economic.

Literature

 Basic Literature with economic background information

 Competition Cases of the European Commission

Dates

Each participant is required to have at least one appointment with us. This appointment has to be at least four weeks prior to the date of the presentation. At this meeting you have to explain us your current concept regarding the chosen competition case. 

Lecturer: (Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kranz)

Teaching Assistant: (Martin Kies)