CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Jean Tirole, scientific director of the Institut d'Economie Industrielle in France, will deliver the David Kinley Lecture in Economics at 3:30 p.m. April 15 (Friday) in 134 Temple Hoyne Buell Hall Auditorium, 611 E. Lorado Taft Drive, Champaign.
"Platform Industries: How Software, Videogames, Credit Cards, Media and Auctions Differ From Other Markets, and What it Means for the Future of the Economy" will examine how platforms bring together different groups, such as videogame developers and players.
Even though platforms may appear similar to consumer products, Tirole argues that they are more akin to markets. As a result, conventional economic thinking does not necessarily apply, something that has implications for business strategy and public policy, according to the lecturer.
A visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tirole has written more than 100 published academic articles and seven books, including "The Theory of Industrial Organization," "Game Theory" (with Drew Fudenberg) and "The Prudential Regulation of Banks" (with Mathias Dewatripont).
The economics department sponsors the David Kinley Lecture. It is free and open to the public.