Summer Semester 2024

MA Seminar – Market Design

Instructor

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kasberger

Important Dates

9 April 2024: Kick-off meeting (13.30 - 15.00, room tba)

14 and 15 June 2024: Seminar presentations by students

30 September 2024: Students hand in seminar paper (15 pages)

Time and Location

The seminar will be held as a block seminar. A kick-off meeting is on 9 April 2024 (13.30 - 15.00, room tba). The seminar presentations take place on 14 and 15 June 2024.

Description

Market design uses economic theory and experimental and empirical economics to understand and improve real markets. The course aims to bridge the gap between economic theory and practice. The seminar offers a platform for students to deepen their understanding of market designs, refine their research skills, and contribute practical insights to market design. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to apply market design principles effectively to improve real-world markets.

Students will choose a topic or market of interest for their term paper. Ambitious students are encouraged to select a market close to their heart (which might not be on the list of my topics), describe its current state and suggest improvements (e.g., based on the literature on other markets). For example, you might be interested in how children are “matched” to Kitas in your hometown. In this case, you could describe the status quo, review the literature on “school choice”, and assess it critically, given the institutional background.

The term papers primarily review the existing literature. However, students are asked to develop a new analytical or computational example or with an experimental design to illustrate or test the key hypothesis. We can discuss the term paper on an individual basis.

Finally, you present and discuss your project in class and write a summary as a seminar paper.

Seminar papers are due on September 30, 2024. Seminar presentations and papers are in English. More information will be given during the kick-off meeting.

Prerequisites

This is a seminar for Master’s students. Participants must have taken microeconomics and game theory courses.

Assessment

Grading is based on the presentation (30%) and the seminar paper (70%).

Organizational details

You must register for the seminar via the obligatory online registration form.

If you need any additional information, please get in touch with me directly at bernhard.kasbergr@uni-konstanz.de

Topics (Examples):

  • Spectrum auction design
  • Electricity market design
  • Robust revenue maximization in auctions
  • Simplicity in market design
  • School choice
  • Sponsored search auctions
  • Inequity-aware market design
  • Course allocation