Media & Telecommunications Industries

Catalog description

Study the structure and performance of media, telecommunications and information industries applying principles and ideas from microeconomics, finance and communications. COMM 585 COMM 585 Media & Telecommunications Industries (3) The objective of this graduate seminar is twofold. First, the course provides exposure to the applications of selected concepts, principles and topics in microeconomics to the analysis of the media, telecommunication and information markets. This course is not intended as a general introduction to microeconomic theory and practice - however, students will have the opportunity to begin their study of selected applications of microeconomic principles at a fundamental level and advance their understanding to a high level of complexity worthy of graduate coursework. The second objective of the course is to connect ideas and principles from microeconomics to a body of communications theories, demonstrating possible complements and conflicts across the two disciplines. Discussion of both theoretical and empirical scholarship is emphasized. This in turn gives students a framework for further research on the structure of information industries and the conduct and performance of communications firms. Course covers international markets but focus is on North America. Topics may include selected industries such as wired and wireless telephony, satellite communications, broadband/cable, broadcasting, film, advertising, publishing, computing and Internet; industrial organization; competition and competitive advantage, growth and the economic causes of innovation; economics of intellectual property protection; electronic markets, hierarchies and transactions cost economics; the economic justification and effects of regulation; natural monopoly economics; cost modeling, demand forecasting and pricing in regulated monopoly and competitive industries; telecommunications deregulation and privatization.