Economics of Digital Transformation

This course provides a broad perspective on how information and digital technologies have been transforming the economy. the process of such a transformation is to be analyzed both from the perspective of economics, implying some formal micro-and macroeconomic apparatus, and from a practical perspective to better understand the real digital business cases and challenges for government regulation. the primary objective of the course is to develop critical thinking about the impact of digitalization on individual and corporate behavior, as well as on rethinking regulatory issues. the course is logically divided into two parts. First, students will study the microeconomic reality within which digital markets flourish. the course will cover principal features of online-platforms and two-sided markets, with the extensive use of microeconomic theory. Specific business strategies employed by firms in digital markets will be at the center of discussion. Pricing decisions will be especially noted, in parallel with the implications of digitalization for antitrust authorities and competition policy. In the second part, the course will cover the macroeconomic dimension of digital transformation. In particular, students will learn about important biases in GDP and CPI measurement, reassessment of investment in the digital space, productivity and inequality trends in major advanced economies. Then, a very debatable issue of Artificial Intelligence impact on labor market will be analyzed. the final section of the course investigates the transformation of money in the digital era. Challenges for central banks in the cryptocurrencies' environment will be of specific interest. the class offers an opportunity to apply economic tools to understand how pressing, important, and rapid modern technological changes are. the course is designed to construct a framework that will help students make sense of a complex digital transformation of the economy and society. Throughout the course, papers and books written by the most prolific researchers of the digital economy will be used as references, including Eric Brynjolfsson, Jonathan Levin, Daron Acemoglu, Glen Weyl, etc. Students will have a chance to enhance their critical reading and writing skills and finally to shape their own vision of further digitalization prospects.