Office: 309c Dewing Hall
Office Hours: Mon-Wed-Fri 2:00-3:00, or by appointment
phone: X-7023
email: cstull@kzoo.edu

http://cc.kzoo.edu/~cstull/auto.html
 
 

This seminar will analyze the auto industry and public policy related to the industry.  The automobile industry consists of global conglomerates interacting in a complex environment where rivals compete and cooperate, where governments regulate and promote, where labor is unionized, and where most of the assumptions of perfect competition don't hold.  Government intervention in, and regulation of, the industry is wide-ranging.  Important policies include environmental regulations, safety requirements, antitrust restrictions, international trade rules, labor laws, insurance, fuel taxes, and highway development.
 

The main goal of this class is to understand how, and why, various industrial policies are used.  To reach this goal, the course will be organized around producing a book-length document describing and explaining these policies.  Each participant will have primary responsibility for a single chapter in this work.  Much of the material used in this book will be gathered from library research, but each student will also conduct an interview to collect original information.  We will also develop a website to complement the written text.

Presentations ..............................................15%

background (3)
interview
chapter

Background papers (3)................................15%

Interview Paper ...........................................20%

Chapter Paper ..............................................30%
 

draft
revision

Website ........................................................10%

Participation .................................................10%