EC476 One Unit
Contracts and Organisations
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Philippe Aghion
Prof Gilat Levy
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, MSc in Economics and MSc in Economics (2 Year Programme). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: These courses are intended for MSc Economics, MSc Economics (2 Year Programme), and MSc EME Students. Any external student must have successfully completed EC400 or EC451 in September and/or have approval of the Department of Economics.
Deadline for application: Please apply as soon as possible after the opening of course selection for all courses.
For queries contact: Econ.msc@lse.ac.uk
Requisites
Additional requisites:
Students on the MSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics programme must have completed the Pre-sessional Course for MSc EME (EC451).
All other students must have completed the Introductory Course in Mathematics and Statistics (EC400).
In exceptional circumstances, students may take this course without EC400 provided they meet the necessary requirements and have received approval from the course conveners (via a face to face meeting), the MSc Economics Programme Director and their own Programme Director. Contact the Department of Economics for more information (econ.msc@lse.ac.uk) regarding entry to this course.
Course content
The course will cover topics from: social learning, reputation and career concerns, strategic information transmission, contract theory, incomplete contracts, the economics of moral hazard and adverse selection in strategic settings, dynamic theory of incentive contracts, optimal auctions and regulation, and the theory of mechanism design with multiple agents (multiple agents screening and common agency).
Teaching
1 hours of seminars in the Spring Term.
10 hours of seminars and 20 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.
Formative assessment
Two marked assignments per term.
Indicative reading
No one book covers the entire syllabus; a list of references will be provided at the start of the course. The following textbooks provide a treatment of part of the material presented in the course: Jean-Jacques Laffont, The Economics of Uncertainty and Information, MIT Press; D Fudenberg & J Tirole, Game Theory, MIT Press; Jean-Jacques Laffont & Jean Tirole, A Theory of Incentives in Procurement Regulations, MIT Press; Bernard Salanié, The Economics of Contracts: A Primer, MIT Press, Bolton, P., and M. Dewatripont (2005), Contract Theory, MIT Press, Hart, O. (1995), Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure, Oxford University Press.
Assessment
Assessment Pathway 1
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period
Assessment Pathway 2
Exam (50%), duration: 120 Minutes, reading time: 15 minutes in the Spring exam period
Essay (50%, 6000 words)
Non-MSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics students must follow Assessment path 2.
MSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics students can follow Assessment path 1 or 2.
This course is IRDAP-enabled, meaning that resit and deferred assessments will take place in August 2026.
Key facts
Department: Economics
Course Study Period: Autumn, Winter and Spring Term
Unit value: One unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 14
Average class size 2024/25: 14
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.