Teaching
Browse through Dr. Noel's current and past courses on Competition Economics. Dr. Noel has taught classes in Antitrust Economics and Competitive Strategy at several universities at the undergraduate and graduate levels over the past twenty years. Students looking for current course materials can download those materials from the course website on the Texas Tech eLearning portal.
Courses Taught by Dr. Noel on Competition Economics
Courses Taught at Texas Tech University:
ECO3326 Industrial Organization and Competitive Strategy
This course makes extensive use of game theory to analyze competition and the strategic behavior of firms in imperfectly competitive markets. Topics include pricing strategies, collusive behavior, entry decisions, entry deterrence, advertising, research and development, firm structure and merger activity. Special attention will be given to teaching the skills of economic modeling.
ECO3327 Antitrust Law and Economic Regulation
This course examines the economics of antitrust and economic regulation. The first part explores antitrust laws in the United States and the landmark court decisions that have interpreted them, and discusses them in the context of current economic theory and understanding. Topics include monopoly and oligopoly pricing, price discrimination, price fixing, monopolization, tying and bundling, raising rivals' costs, predatory pricing, mergers, resale price maintenance, exclusive dealing, exclusive territories, and refusals to deal. The second part explores the motivations, costs, benefits, methods, and outcomes of economic regulation, and examines the regulatory experience in a large number of industry case studies.
ECO3325 Special Topics in Applied Economics
This course covers special topics of current and particular interest in competition economics and is offered time to time.
ECO5347 Industrial Organization Theory
This course provides a graduate level introduction to theoretical work in Industrial Organization. It deals with theoretical models of pricing, price discrimination, monopoly power, oligopoly, entry, information, mergers, vertical restraints, and regulation. It assumes familiarity with microeconomic theory and competitive game theory.
ECO5348 Seminar in Empirical Industrial Organization
This course provides a graduate level introduction to econometric work in Industrial Organization. It deals with estimating econometric models of pricing, price discrimination, monopoly power, oligopoly, entry, information, mergers, vertical restraints, and regulation, including reduced form and structural approaches, discrete choice modeling, almost-ideal-demand-systems, and merger simulations. It assumes a familiarity with microeconomic theory, game theory and econometrics.
ECO5382 Advanced Microeconomics
This course is a part of the core Ph.D. Microeconomics sequence. It deals with production and cost theory, competition and oligopoly theory, game theory, and general equilibrium.
Courses Taught at the University of California at San Diego:
ECON105 Industrial Organization and Firm Strategy
This course makes extensive use of game theory to analyze the strategic behavior and interaction of firms in imperfectly competitive markets. Topics include pricing strategies, collusive behavior, entry decisions, entry deterrence, advertising, research and development, firm structure and merger activity. Special attention will be given to teaching the skills of economic modeling.
ECON107 Regulation and Antitrust
This course examines the economics of antitrust and economic regulation. The first part explores antitrust laws in the United States and the landmark court decisions that have interpreted them, and discusses them in the context of current economic theory and understanding. Topics include monopoly and oligopoly pricing, price discrimination, price fixing, monopolization, tying and bundling, raising rivals' costs, predatory pricing, mergers, resale price maintenance, exclusive dealing, exclusive territories, and refusals to deal. The second part explores the motivations, costs, benefits, methods, and outcomes of economic regulation, and examines the regulatory experience in a large number of industry case studies.
ECO109 Game Theory
This is an advanced course in game theory. Topics include static games of complete and incomplete information and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information, the concept of Nash Equilibria, Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibria, and Perfect Bayesian Nash Equilibria. Competition is extensively modeled.
ECON100A Intermediate Microeconomics I (Demand Theory)
This is the first course in the upper division microeconomics sequence. In the sequence, we revisit the supply and demand model from the micro principles course but do so in a more rigorous and mathematical way. The first course in the sequence, 100A, analyzes the demand side. We work through the problem of utility maximization by consumers using optimization techniques from multivariate calculus and ultimately derive a demand curve and its properties. We consider a variety of choice applications and decision making under uncertainty.
ECON100B Intermediate Microeconomics II (Cost and Competition Theory)
This is the second course in the upper division microeconomics sequence. In the sequence, we revisit the supply and demand model from the micro principles course but do so in a more rigorous and mathematical way. The second course in the sequence, 100B, analyzes the cost structure of firms, and then analyzes the paradigm of perfect competition. We work through the problem of cost minimization by firms using optimization techniques from multivariate calculus and ultimately derive a supply curve under perfect competition and its properties. We consider a variety of applications of the model.
ECON100C Intermediate Microeconomics III (Monopoly and Oligopoly Theory)
This is the third and final course in the upper division microeconomics sequence. In the sequence, we revisit the supply and demand model from the micro principles course but do so in a more rigorous and mathematical way. This third course in the sequence, 100C, analyzes the supply side when competition is imperfect. We work through the problems of monopoly and oligopoly using techniques from multivariate calculus. We consider a variety of more advanced applications such as incomplete information, public goods provision, and externalities.
ECON234 Industrial Organization
This course provides a graduate level introduction to Industrial Organization. It deals with price discrimination, monopoly power, oligopoly, entry, information, discrete choice modeling, mergers, vertical restraints, and other competition topics. It assumes a familiarity with microeconomics theory, game theory and econometrics.
ECON260 Industrial Organization
This course provides a graduate level introduction to Industrial Organization. It deals with price discrimination, monopoly power, oligopoly, entry, information, discrete choice modeling, and econometric estimation techniques. It assumes a familiarity with microeconomics theory, game theory and econometrics.
ECON87 Freshman Seminar - Landmark Antitrust Cases in the U.S.
This freshman seminar looks at some major antitrust cases in the U.S. from the early twentieth century up to the present day. Some examples include the Great Vitamin Conspiracy, Microsoft, VISA International, Standard Oil, ALCOA, Leegin, Sharp Electronics, and others.
ECON87 Freshman Seminar - How to Take Risks
This freshman seminar introduces decision-making under uncertainty. Concepts include risk evaluation, expected value, expected utility, risk aversion, objective and subjective probability, insurance, and actuarial science.
MGT405 Microeconomics for MBA Students
This course introduces MBA students to supply and demand economics, pricing strategies, market structure, and managerial decision-making with economic data.
Courses Taught at M.I.T:
14.01 Microeconomics
This is an advanced course in microeconomics, rooted in calculus techniques, and covering the fundamentals of supply and demand, consumer theory, competition theory, monopoly and oligopoly theory, entry, asymmetric information and uncertainty. Equivalent to a master's or first year Ph.D. level course at many other universities.
Courses Taught at the University of Toronto:
ECO200 Intermediate Microeconomics
This is a full year course in intermediate microeconomics. Topics include supply consumer choice theory, cost functions, perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, asymmetric information and uncertainty.
ECO206 Intermediate Microeconomics with Calculus
This is a full year course in intermediate microeconomics using calculus. The topics are similar to those in ECO200, but will be more intensive and make extensive of calculus and optimization theory.
ECO305 Industrial Organization and Public Policy
This is a full year course in Industrial Organization, the study of firms' decision-making processes, competitive and anti-competitive behaviors, and antitrust consequences of those behaviors. It discusses policymaking in the context of monopolistic and oligopolistic markets, optimal regulation, and antitrust law. Topics include monopoly and oligopoly pricing, price discrimination, price fixing, monopolization, tying and bundling, raising rivals' costs, predatory pricing, mergers, resale price maintenance, exclusive dealing, exclusive territories, refusals to deal, and regulation.
ECO326 Advanced Microeconomics
This is an advanced course in game theory. Topics include static games of complete and incomplete information and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information, the concept of Nash Equilibria, Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibria, and Perfect Bayesian Nash Equilibria.