Global firms and markets

Parte 1.
Review of perfect competition and Pareto efficiency. Monopoly pricing. Monopoly quality choice. Theory of the firm, neoclassical, Coase, and Grossman and Hart. Incentives in Principal-Agent relationship. Oligopoly models. Welfare properties and policy issues in Cournotian models. Product differentiation. Collusion and Antitrust. Innovation, R&D, and Patent policy.

Parte 2
Topic 1 - Intro, Development Accounting and Growth Models: We review key results of the development accounting literature and classic structural transformation models. We examine mechanisms of structural transformation and focus on structural transformation at the firm level.
Topic 2 - Institutions: We discuss the role of institutions in determining investment and productivity. In particular, we will focus on property rights and contract enforcement; corruption and distortions; taxation and entry regulations. When looking at entry barriers and taxes, we will discuss the roots of informality.
Topic 3 - Entrepreneurship and Development: We discuss the basic features of firms in developing countries. We review the evidence on return to capital, ask how market imperfections may limit enterprise growth, and review the micro-level evidence on constraints for firm growth in developing countries.
Topic 4 - Credit Markets in Developing Countries: Financial markets play a crucial role in economic development by allowing those who have talent or skills but limited money to undertake investments. We review theories on how financial market frictions may affect choices and productivity of individuals and firms. We look at evidence on the importance of financial market frictions in developing countries.
Topic 5 - Microfinance: How does the standard microfinance model work, and how did microfinance make lending to the poor a viable and sustainable policy? What is the impact of microfinance on business development and poverty alleviation? How can we improve the access to financial services and increase savings among poor households? What is the role of complementary skills, social networks, cultural and psychological factors?
Topic 6 - Insurance: Risk plays a crucial role in the lives of the poor. We'll review evidence on the determinants of and constraints to insurance take up and the impact of insurance on firms.
Topic 7 - Infrastructure: Access to infrastructure, such as transport, energy and more recently internet, is an important determinant of firm productivity. Studies of developing country settings allow to evaluate and quantify the impact of infrastructure on firms.
Topic 8 - Productivity: What are the drivers of forms productivity in developing countries? What is the role of management? We review the recent literature on management practices and productivity. We then discuss the role of complementarity inputs, institutional quality and relational contracts in determining firms' productivity.
Topic 9 - Intra-household norms and behavioral issues: Given that much of production in developing countries occurs within the household, it is important to understand how intra-household decisions are made in order to explain firm productivity. Similarly, behavioral issues are particularly binding for the poor, and are another key determinant of entrepreneurs' behavior.
Topic 10 - Empirical methods: The impact evaluation problem and its solutions. Informal overview of empirical methods and their application to development economics papers on firms. This is a cross-cutting topic, which will be primarily covered during the classes.