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Teaching Resources
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Cyberproblems & Solutions
Oligopoly
- You may have heard that Microsoft Corporation has come under the
scrutiny of the U.S. Government Antitrust agencies. Browse the
Web pages of The Committee
for the Moral Defense of Microsoft and The International
Anti-Microsoft Network. Recognize that the points of view
expressed on each page are extreme in both directions. Nevertheless,
what antitrust issues are associated with Microsoft? Do you believe the
government has a case against Microsoft? Why or why not? What should
the government do about Microsoft?
The Moral Defense is unabashedly libertarian in its views. Nonetheless,
the economic issues are fairly well-spelled-out in some of the article
links. The Anti-MS page is devoid of economic analysis, but is a good
example of the passions that large corporations sometimes stir up.
Professional economists are likely to be somewhat familiar with the
issues in the Microsoft case. Microsoft is clearly the dominant firm in
the operating system market. Does this dominance make it difficult for
other firms to compete and will the rate of technological innovation be
reduced as a consequence, or, is Microsoft's dominance earned but
precarious and can it be toppled by anyone who develops the "next good
idea?" Students will have a wide variety of views on the issue.
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