Seminar: Digital Economics

Course content

This seminar explores the aspects of economic interactions that were transformed by the digital revolution of the recent decades and investigates the transformed reality. The natural focus is on the information flows within the economy and their effect on economic outcomes. We mostly focus on issues relevant to firm-consumer relations and explore them from a theoretical perspective. Possible questions that can be explored within this seminar include:

  • Effects of the sharp drop of consumer search costs and the advent of matching platforms.
  • Product reviews, consumer learning, and the ways in which sellers can manipulate it.
  • Media, social media, and social learning.
  • Consumer tracking and privacy.
  • Digital goods piracy and the economics of open-source software.
 

The focus of the seminar is on theoretical models of Economic interactions. It is therefore expected that the students work on primarily theoretical papers within this seminar.

Education

MSc programme in Economics

The seminar is primarily for students at the MSc of Economics.

Learning outcome

In additional to the learning outcome specified in the Master curriculum the student is after completing the seminar expected to be able to:

Knowledge:

  • Identify the fundamental ways in which the economic interactions have been transformed by digitization.
     

Skills:

  • Interpret and critically assess theoretical and empirical studies on digital economics and economics of information.
  • Formalize and model interactions in environments with asymmetric information.

 

Competencies:

  • Apply the acquired skills and knowledge to new areas of analysis in digital goods and markets, as well as in broader fields of economics.

 

Supplemented by an overall intended learning outcome outlined in the programme-specific curriculum

At the seminar the student is trained independently to
- identify and clarify a problem,
- seek and select relevant literatur,
- write a academic paper,
- present and discuss own paper with the other students at the seminar.

The aim of the presentations is, that the student uses the presentation as an opportunity to practice oral skills and to receive feedback. The presentations is not a part of the exam and will not be assessed.

Mandatory activities in the seminar:
- Kick-off meeting
- Finding literatur and defining the project
- Writing process of the seminar paper
- Presentation of own project and paper
- Giving constructive feedback to another student´s paper
- Actively participating in discussions at the presentations and other meetings.

There is no weekly teaching/lecturing and the student cannot expect guidance from the teacher. If the teacher gives a few introduction lectures or gives the opportunity for guidance, this as well as other expectations are clarified at the kickoff meeting.

Process:
It is strongly recommended that you think about and search for a topic before the semester begins, as there is only a few weeks from the kick-off meeting to the submission of the project description/ agreement paper.

The seminar project paper must be uploaded in Absalon before the presentations, as the opponents and the other seminar participants have to read and comment on the paper. It is important that you upload a paper that is so finalized as possible due to the fact that the value of feedback and comments at the presentation is strongly associated with the skill level of the seminar paper.

After the presentations, you can with a few corrections improve the seminar paper by including the feedback and comments emerged during the presentations. It is NOT intended that you rewrite or begin the writing of the full project AFTER the presentation has taken place.

A very good introduction to the topic is given in the following survey:

For more details on the particular topic of economics of privacy, see also:

  • Acquisti, Alessandro, Curtis Taylor, and Liad Wagman. “The Economics of Privacy.” Journal of Economic Literature 54, no. 2 (2016): 442–92. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.54.2.442.

 

Students are strongly recommended to have followed Microeconomics III and/or Game Theory.

For most topics discussed in the seminar, it is extremely beneficial to have followed courses on Industrial Organization. Students may get additional inspiration from having followed courses related to Marketing, Behavioral Economics, and Mechanism Design.

BSc in Economics or similar

- Kick-off meeting:
Week 6, Tuesday (Feb 4), 15:15-17:00

- Extra meetings / introductory teaching / guidance:
Will likely have another meeting in week 8, same time slot.
Optional office hours, dates TBD.

- Deadline for submission of commitment paper / project description:
March 1, 10:00

- Deadline for uploading a seminar assignment paper in Absalon:
One week before the presentations.

- Presentations:
In the time period 1 – 23 May, exact dates TBD

- Exam date:
3 June at 10.00

All information regarding the seminar is communicated through Absalon including venue. So it is very important that you by yourself logon to Absalon and read the information already when you are registered at the seminar.

Oral
Individual
Collective
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)

 

Each student receives individually oral feedback on the paper and at the presentation from peers and supervisor.

The supervisor gives the students collective oral feedback and individual guidance.

ECTS
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment, .
Type of assessment details
A seminar paper in English that meets the formal requirements for written papers stated in the curriculum of the Master programme and at KUNet for seminars.
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Exam registration requirements

Attendance in all  activities at the seminar as stated in the formal requrements in the Master curriculum and at the KUnet for  Seminars (UK) and  Seminars (DK) is required to participate in the exam.

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Aid
All aids allowed

Use of AI tools is permitted. You must explain how you have used the tools. When text is solely or mainly generated by an AI tool, the tool used must be quoted as a source.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
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Exam period

Exam information:

The seminar paper must be uploaded to the Digital Exam portal. More information will be available from the middle of the semester.

For enrolled students more information about examination, rules, aids etc. is available at the intranet for Master (UK) and Master (DK).

Examination Dates can be found here (latest uploading of Seminar paper to the Digital Exam portal for assessment.)

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Re-exam

Reexam information:

The reexam form in seminars is a seminar paper with a synopsis

More info: Seminars(UK) / Seminars(DK)

Criteria for exam assessment

Students are assessed on the extent to which they master the learning outcome for the seminar and can make use of the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes in the Curriculum of the Master programme.

To receive the top grade, the student must with no or only a few minor weaknesses be able to demonstrate an excellent performance displaying a high level of command of all aspects of the relevant material.

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Project work
  • 186
  • Seminar
  • 20
  • English
  • 206

Kursusinformation

Language
English
Course number
AØKK08405U
ECTS
7,5 ECTS
Programme level
Full Degree Master
Duration

1 semester

Placement
Spring
Schedulegroup
and venue:
Go to "Remarks".

Exam and re-sits: Go to "Exam".
Capacity
One class of up to 20 students
Studyboard
Department of Economics, Study Council
Contracting department
  • Department of Economics
Contracting faculty
  • Faculty of Social Sciences
Course Coordinator
  • Egor Starkov   (12-70727a7d397e7f6c7d767a814b706e7a79397680396f76)
Teacher

Egor Starkov (egor.starkov@econ.ku.dk)

Saved on the 04-06-2024

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