Network Economics II

General Information:

 

Outline:

This Master-level course is built on the concepts and models of network economics and game theory. After a brief introduction of the major concepts and models of network theory, graph theory, and game theory, the lectures will review models of network formation, stability, and efficiency. A special attention will be given to network characteristics such as allocation rules and externalities. Tutorial sessions will provide a series of exercises that should help students in their case study analyses.

The lectures start with a review of fundamentals concepts (discussed in Network Economics I) and then, proceed with network-formation games, models describing strategic interactions in networks with externalities, models on international networks and markets. Special attention will be given to correspondence of real-world networks to theoretical frameworks for analysis of efficiency, optimality, and evolution.
The course will include discussion on such important network examples as:

• Trade networks
• Environmental treaty groups
• Investment alliances
• Academic networks
• Informational networks