EE 758 – INTERNET ECONOMICS

Course offered in:

Spring 2016

Instructors:

Prof. D. Manjunath

Course Content:

  1. Introductory Microeconomics.

  2. Pricing, Peering and Network Formation.

  3. Two-sided Markets.

  4. Network Neutrality vs Differential Pricing.

  5. Auction Theory and Spectrum Auctions.

The course offers a rich flavor of some of the contemporary problems in operations research, particularly the resource allocation problems in telecom industry. The course starts with a couple of introductory lectures for familiarization with important microeconomic concepts after which it systematically starts delving deeper and deeper into problems of contemporary concern. New concepts are introduced through journal papers. The class discussion is usually centered on these papers. On an average, a new paper is introduced almost every week.

Prerequisites:

None

Feedback on Lectures:

This was the first formal offering of this course. Every paper discussion would be followed by intensive discussions that constituted the most important source of learning. The class is a highly interactive one. Missing classes cannot be afforded since the references are vast and digressive.

Attendance Policy:

Prof. enforces a strict attendance policy. DX or even FR may be awarded should he deem it appropriate.

Course Administration:

The execution is liable to changes that the instructor deems fit. For our batch, the evaluation was based solely on the final paper critique and the assignments offered during the course of the semester.

Grading Statistics:

Should you be attentive in class and contribute in discussions, not much of an outside effort will be required to secure a good grade. The assignments are based on concepts introduced in class and the ensuing discussions. After conclusion of instruction, the class in divided into groups of 2-3 each, with each group getting a journal paper or 2 for review and critical assessment, to be evaluated in an hour long presentation by each group. This occupies a lot of weight of the total evaluation. Following was the grade distribution for our batch:

AA – 18, AB – 13, BB – 4, BC – 4, CC – 2, CD – 2, FR – 10, II – 3, Total – 56.

Review by – Anand Kalvit (5th Year, DD – CSP)