While the asterisks in the following reading list probably indicate the subset of required course readings, the list in its entirety may be considered George Stigler’s universe of readings relevant for a graduate student intending to take a comprehensive examination in the field of industrial organization at Chicago. An autobiographical note by George Stigler from 1982 is included at the Nobel Prize website.
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READING LIST
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION
George J. Stigler
Spring, 1973
Business 305
Economics 380
- The Definition and Empirical Determination of Competition and Monopoly
- Analytical literature
A. P. Lerner, “The Concept of Monopoly”, Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 1
F. H. Knight, Risk, Uncertainty and Profit, p. 76 ff.
G. J. Stigler, “Perfect Competition, Historically Contemplated”, Journal of Political Economy, 1957 (reprinted in Essays in the History of Economics).
*G. J. Stigler, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 2, 3, 4.
*G. Rosenbluth, “Measure of Concentration”, in Business Concentration and Price Policy.
E. F. Fama and A. B. Laffer, “The Number of Firms and Competition”, AER, Sept. 1972.
T. Scitovsky, “Economic Theory and Measurement of Concentration”, in Business Concentration and Price Policy.
M. O. Finkelstein and Richard Friedberg, “The Application of an Entropy Theory of Concentration”, Yale Law Review, March 1967.
H. Demsetz, “Why Regulate Utilities?”, Journal of Law and Economics, April 1968.
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- Statistical studies
*A. C. Harberger, “Monopoly and Resource Allocation”, American Economic Review, May 1954.
G. Rosenbluth, Concentration in Canadian Manufacturing Industries.
R. Evely and I. M. D. Little, Concentration in British Industry, Ch. 1, pp. 104 ff., 160 ff.
P. Pashigian, “Market Concentration in the United States and Great Britain”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1968.
Ralph C. Nelson, Concentration in the Manufacturing Industries of the United States, Ch. I-IV.
Carl Eis, “The 1919-1930 Merger Movement in American Industry”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1969.
F. L. Pryor, “An International Comparison of Concentration Ratios,” Review of Economics and Statistics, May 1972.
M. Gort, “Analysis of Stability and Change in Market Shares”, Journal of Political Economy, 1963.
R. W. Kilpatrick, “A Choice Among Alternative Measures of Industrial Concentration”, Review of Economics and Statistics, May 1967.
*Irvin Grossack, “the Concept and Measurement of Permanent Industrial Concentration, Journal of Political Economy, July/Aug 1972.
- Determinants of the Firm-Size Structure
- The Economies of Scale
J. McConnell, “Corporate Earnings by Size of Firm”. Survey of Current Business, May 1945.
J. Johnston, Statistical Cost Functions, esp. pp. 110 ff., Ch. 6.
J. Haldi and D. Whitcomb, “Economies of Scale in Industrial Plants”, Journal of Political Economy, 1967.
J. S. Bain, Barriers to New Competition.
*J. S. Bain, “Economies of Scale…” in Readings in Industrial Organization and Public Policy.
*G. J. Stigler, The Economies of Scale, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 7.
P. E. Hart, “The Size and Growth of Firms”,Economica, February 1962.
*F. Modigliani, “New Developments on the Oligopoly Front”, Journal of Political Economy, June 1958.
D. Osborne, “The Role of Entry in Oligopoly Theory”, Journal of Political Economy, 1964.
L. Weiss, “The Survivor Technique and the Extent of Suboptimal Capacity”, Journal of Political Economy, June 1964.
T. Saving, “Estimation of Optimum Size of Plant by the Survivor Method”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Nov. 1961.
L. Telser, Competition, Collusion and Game Theory, Ch. 8.
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- Mergers
A. S. Dewing, “A Statistical Test of the Success of Consolidations”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1921.
G. J. Stigler, “Monopoly and Oligopoly by Merger”, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 8.
F. T. C., Report on Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions.
*J. Markham, “Survey of the Evidence and Findings on Mergers”, in Business Concentration.
J. F. Weston, The Role of Mergers in the Growth of Large Firms.
G. J. Stigler, “The Statistics of Monopoly and Merger”, Journal of Political Economy, 1956.
*Ralph Nelson, Merger Movements in American Industry.
H. G. Manne, “Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control”, Journal of Political Economy, April 1965.
- The Effects of Concentration
- Collusion
*D. H. MacGregor, Industrial Combination, Part II, Ch. 1.
W. Fellner, Competition Among the Few.
W. Nicholls, Imperfect Competition Within Agricultural Industries, pp. 120-130.
F. Machlup, Economics of Sellers’ Competition, Ch. 13.
*G. J. Stigler, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 5.
W. Nutter, “Duopoly, Oligopoly, and Emerging Competition”, Southern Economic Journal, 1964.
Lester Telser, Competition, Collusion and Game Theory, Ch. 5.
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- Price Discrimination
N. I. C. B., Public Regulation of Competitive Practices, pp. 63-85.
J. P. Miller, Unfair Competition, Ch. 7-9.
J. Robinson, Economics of Imperfect Competition, Bk. V.
F. Machlup, The Basing Point System.
G. J. Stigler, A Theory of Uniform Delivered Prices, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 14.
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- Price Rigidity
*G. Means, Industrial Prices and Their Relative Inflexibility.
Sweezy and Stigler, articles on the kinked oligopoly demand curve in American Economic Association, Readings in Price Theory.
A. C. Neal, Industrial Concentration and Price Inflexibility.
*Stigler, Administered Prices and Oligopolistic Inflation, The Organization of Industry, Ch. 19.
*Stigler & Kindahl, The Behavior of Industrial Prices, Ch. 1, 4, 5.
Government Price Statistics (Joint Economic Committee, 1961, also, National Bureau of Economic Research), Staff Papers No. 8 and 9.
R. Selden and C. dePodwin, “Business Pricing Policies and Inflation”, Journal of Political Economy, 1963.
L. Weiss, “Business Pricing Policies and Inflation Reconsidered,” Journal of Political Economy, 1966.
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- Profits
*J. S. Bain, “Relation of Profit Rate to Industry Concentration”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, August 1951.
N. R. Collins and Lee E. Preston, Concentration and Price-Cost Margins in Manufacturing Industries.
G. J. Stigler, Capital and Rates of Return in Manufacturing Industries, Ch. 3.
Y. Brozen, “The Antitrust Task Force Deconcentration Recommendation”, Journal of Law and Economics, October, 1970.
S. I. Ornstein, “Concentration and Profits”, Journal of Business, Oct. 1972.
- Topics in Industry Behavior
- Advertising
E. Chamberlin, Theory of Monopolistic Competition, Ch. 6-7.
L. Telser, “Advertising and Cigarettes”, Journal of Political Economy, October 1962.
*N. Kaldor, “Economic Aspects of Advertising”, Review of Economic Studies, 1950.
*L. Telser, “Advertising and Competition”, Journal of Political Economy, December 1964.
*G. J. Stigler, “The Economics of Information,” The Organization of Industry, Ch. 16.
J. Peterman, “The Clorox Case and the Television Rate Structure”, Journal of Law and Economics, Oct. 1968.
W. S. Comanor and T. A. Wilson, “Advertising Market Structure and Performance”, Review of Economics and Statistics, 1967.
Phillip Nelson, “Information and Consumer Behavior,” Journal of Political Economy, April 1970.
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- The Nature of the Firm and Vertical Integration
*R. Coase, “The Nature of the Firm”, Readings in Price Theory.
H. Demsetz, “The Exchange and Enforcement of Property Rights”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1964.
A. Smith, Wealth of Nations, Bk. I, Ch. 3.
Marshall, Principles of Economics, Bk. IV, Ch. 10-13.
A. Young, “Increasing Returns and Economic Progress”, Economic Journal, 1928 (and in Clemence’s Readings in Economic Analysis, 2 vols.)
G. J. Stigler, “Division of Labor is Limited by the Extent of the Market,” The Organization of industry, Ch. 12.
*M. Adelman, “Concept and Measurement of Vertical Integration”, in Business Concentration and Price Policy.
M. Gort, Diversification and Integration in American Industry.
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- Conglomerate Mergers
C. Edwards, “Conglomerate Progress as a Source of Power”, in Business Concentration and Price Policy.
J. Lorie and P. Halpern, “Conglomerates: The Rhetoric and the Evidence”, Journal of law and Economics, April 1970.
FTC, Economic Report on Corporate Mergers (1969).
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- Schumpeter’s Theory
*Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Ch. 7-8.
E. Mansfield, “Size of Firm, Market Structure, and innovation”, Journal of Political Economy, 1963.
A. Plant, “Economic Theory Concerning Patents for Invention”, Economica, 1934.
*John McGee, “Patent Exploitation”, Journal of Law and Economics, Oct. 1966.
P. Swan, “Market Structure and Technological Progress”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1970.
- Large Number Industries
- Cartels
G. J. Stigler, The Theory of Price, (1966), Ch. 13.
Clair Wilcox, Public Policies Toward Business(3rd) Ch. 30.
C. Edwards, Economic and Political Aspects of International Cartels.
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- Trade Associations
*Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, esp. pp. 125-167.
T. N. E. C. Monograph No. 18, Trade Association Survey.
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- Retailing: Resale Price Maintenance
W. Bowman, “Prerequisites and Effects of Resale Price Maintenance”, University of Chicago Law Journal, 1955.
F. T. C., Resale Price Maintenance.
*L. Telser, “Resale Price Maintenance”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1960.
B. Yamey, The Economics of Resale Price Maintenance.
- Anti-trust Policy
- History
J. D. Clark, Federal Trust Policy.
W. H. Taft, The Anti-trust Act and the Supreme Court.
H. B. Thorelli, The Federal Antitrust Policy.
Robert Bork, “Legislative Intent and the Policy of the Sherman Act”, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1966.
R. Posner, “A Statistical Study of Antitrust Enforcement”, Journal of Law and Economics, 1970.
G. Stigler, “The Economic Effects of the Antitrust Laws,” Journal of Law and Economics, Oct. 1966.
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- Major dissolutions
E. Jones, Trust Problem in the United States, Ch. 18.
Hale, “Trust Dissolution”, Columbia Law Review, 1940.
W. S. Stevens, Industrial Combinations and Trusts, Ch. 14-15.
S. Whitney, Antitrust Policies, 2 vols.
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- Law of Conspiracy
U. S. v. Trenton Potteries, 273 U.S. 392 (1927).
F. T. C. v. Cement Institute, 68 Sup. Ct. 793 (1948).
Report of Attorney-General’s National Committee on the Anti-trust Laws.
Source: University of Chicago Archives. George Stigler Papers, Box 2, Folder “1970’s: course notes + related: Industrial org. + microeconomics”.
Image Source: George Stigler (November 1977). University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf3-00844, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.