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

After completing the seminar the student is expected to be able to fulfill the learning outcome specified in the Master curriculum and 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.

 

Competences:

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

Students receive individual guidance from the instructor.
Students prepare a draft assignment, which they present to the teacher and the other students. The students take turns acting as opponents during each other’s presentations. The feedback should especially focus on the written presentation in the draft assignment, with particular emphasis on the introduction.

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.

Exact dates will be available in the seminar’s course room no later than 14 days before the start of the semester

• Kick-off meeting: Week 6 / 36. See exact date in Absalon.

• Additional meetings/introductory teaching/guidance: Optional. See Absalon.

• Deadline for submission of commitment paper/project description:
No later than February 28 / September 30.

• Deadline for uploading seminar paper draft in Absalon: No later than one week before the presentations. See exact date in Absalon.

• Presentations: In the period November 20 – December 11 for the autumn semester and May 1 – 23 for the spring semester.
See exact dates in Absalon.

• Common submission date for all seminars: December 20 at 10:00 for the autumn semester and June 1 at 10:00 for the spring semester.

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
Home assignment, .
Type of assessment details
Individual or in groups of up to 3.
A seminar paper of 15 standard pages for one person, 22.5 standard pages for 2 and 30 standard pages for 3 students.
See further exam information in the Masters Programme Curriculum.
Examination prerequisites

Attendance in all seminar activities as stated in the Master curriculum.

Reexam: Hand in and have approved a synopsis.

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
Exam period

The seminar paper must be uploaded in Digital Exam.

Common submission date for all seminars: June 1 at 10:00 for the spring semester.

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

Re-exam

Individual seminar paper of 15 standard pages. See further exam information in the Masters Programme Curriculum.

Deadline and more information is available at  MSc in Economics - KUnet

More information about reexam etc. is available at  Master(UK) and  Master(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.

  • 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
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   (12-6a6c7477337879667770747b456a68747333707a336970)
Saved on the 10-10-2025

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