2013 Zhejiang University International Symposium on Industrial Economics hosted by the Center for Research of Private Enterprises, Zhejiang University (CRPE) and School of Economics, Zhejiang University was held in Jinxi Hotel, Hangzhou on June 8th and 9th, 2013. The Symposium is a galaxy of academic exchanges and thoughts of economists, with 12 scholars from the USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou delivering speeches on their latest researches on the theories and applications of industrial economics and having in-depth discussions with over 80 scholars at present.

Marius Schwartz from Department of Economics, GeorgetownUniversity compared the social welfare effects under differential pricing and uniform pricing when the costs of service differ across consumer groups. He held that cost-based differential pricing generally raises consumer welfare and total social welfare. Professor Thomas Ross from the University of British Columbia, Canada introduced the effects of No Immunity for Instigators Clauses (NIICs) of the government on cartel conduct and found out the indeterminacy of their effects. Professor Gautam Gowrisankaran from the University of Arizona specified that, since the introduction of managed care organizations (MCOs) in the American healthcare system, the hospital merging led to the rise of drug prices. Professor William Neilson from Department of Economics, the University of Tennessee put forward the social axioms of equal distribution in transactions from the behavioral economics. Associate Professor Yuk-fai Fong from Department of Economics, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology showed that manager turnover improves the firm’s reputation and the shareholders’ value by making collusion difficult to sustain.

The symposium indicates a firm step of the CRPE and School of Economics, Zhejiang University towards further international academic exchanges and cooperation. It is hoped that the CRPE and the School of Economics, Zhejiang University will raise its international vision and research capacity through more effective academic exchanges at home and abroad.