Economics of Information

Dozent/in	Prof. Dr. Winand Emons
Veranstaltungsart	Vorlesung
Code	FS261156
Semester	Frühjahrssemester 2026
Durchführender Fachbereich	Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Studienstufe	Master
Termin/e	Do, 19.02.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 26.02.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B55 Do, 05.03.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 12.03.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 19.03.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 26.03.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 02.04.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 16.04.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 23.04.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 30.04.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 07.05.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B01 Do, 21.05.2026, 14:15 - 16:00 Uhr, 3.B48 Do, 28.05.2026, 14:15 - 15:45 Uhr, 3.B01 (Prüfung)
Umfang	3 Semesterwochenstunden
Turnus	Weekly
Inhalt	I. Moral Hazard 1. Insurance Markets 2. The Principal-Agent Problem II. Adverse Selection 1. The Market for Lemons 2. Job Market Signaling 3. Screening in the Insurance Market 4. Credit Rationing III. Credence Goods
Lernziele	The course provides an introduction to the modern economics of information. We will present the papers of the Nobel price winners Akerlof, Spence, and Stiglitz. A special focus will be on credit and insurance markets. The course will help students to understand institutions better.
Voraussetzungen	Intermediate Microeconomics, Introduction to Game Theory.
Sprache	Englisch
Anmeldung	Binding registration takes place via the UniPortal; see notes below in the «Proof of Performance» field. For course information and materials, registration on the OLAT e-learning platform is required from 2 – 27 February 2026. The students themselves are responsible for verifying the course’s creditability towards their degree program. Direct link to the OLAT course: to follow
Leistungsnachweis	***IMPORTANT*** In order to acquire credits, and/or take the examination, registration via the Uni Portal within the regular examination registration period (2 – 16 April 2026) is MANDATORY. Further information on registration: www.unilu.ch/wf/pruefungen
Abschlussform / Credits	Written exam / 3 Credits
Hinweise	The lecture slides should be sufficient to follow the course. It is not necessary to read additional literature.
Hörer-/innen	Ja
Kontakt	winand.emons@unibe.ch
Literatur	I.Macho-Stadler and D. Pérez-Castrillo: An Introduction to the Economics of Information, Oxford University Press 2001. J. Hirshleifer und J. Riley, The Analytics of Uncertainty and Information, Cambridge University Press 2012. P. Bolton and M. Dewatripont, Contract Theory, MIT Press 2005.