Prof Richard Steinberg NAB 3.08

This course is available on the MSc in Applicable Mathematics, MSc in Management, MSc in Management (CEMS MIM), MSc in Management (MiM Exchange), MSc in Management Science (Decision Sciences), MSc in Management Science (Operational Research) and MSc in Management and Strategy. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course is capped at 45. Students on the waiting list will be selected based on their academic background.

Students should have a course equivalent to the LSE course Quantitative Methods (Mathematics) (MA107), which covers techniques of calculus (differentiation, partial differentiation, optimisation and integration), methods of linear algebra (use of matrices), with emphasis on their application to economic problems. Students should also have some knowledge of probability.

The course provides an introduction to auctions and game theory. Topics covered are: noncooperative games, cooperative games, social choice, sequential games, auctions, and combinatorial auctions. There is also a case study, ‘Pricing Telecoms Licences in India’, which will form the basis of a class discussion. Finally, there will be a research presentation by the course leader.

16 hours of lectures and 12 hours of seminars in the LT. 2 hours of lectures in the ST.

A reading week will take place during Week 6. There will be no teaching during this week.

Very full lecture notes are provided, and every week a set of problems is given out in the lecture. These are discussed in the following seminars.

• Book: P. Cramton, Y. Shoham, and R. Steinberg, eds., Combinatorial Auctions.
• Book chapter: ‘Auction Pricing’, R. Steinberg, Chapter 27 in O. Ozer and R. Phillips, eds., Oxford Handbook of Pricing Management. 
• Case study: ‘Pricing Telecoms Licences in India’, Harvard Business Publishing.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.