312855 Masterseminar "AI and Economics" (S) (SoSe 2026)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping economic activity by transforming production processes, labor markets, innovation dynamics, and market competition. From firm-level productivity gains and algorithmic pricing to the diffusion of AI technologies and their implications for labor markets, regulation, and competition policy, AI raises fundamental questions at the core of modern economics. This seminar engages with recent theoretical and empirical contributions that analyze how AI affects firms, workers, and markets, and situates these developments within broader economic frameworks and policy debates. Its objective is to familiarize participants with this rapidly evolving and highly relevant field of research and to provide a foundation for potential future academic work in this area.

Topic Allocation:
Each student will be assigned one of the topics listed in Course Outline (see Lernraum). The allocation will take place during the initial seminar meeting (please note that the seminar begins on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, rather than 15 April 2026). In a randomly determined order, students may select their preferred topic from those still available. Students are therefore expected to review the proposed topics and the corresponding papers in advance, so that they are able to make an informed choice when invited to indicate their preference.

Organization of the Seminar:
Students are required to deliver an oral presentation and submit a short seminar paper (10–12 pages, including title page, references, etc.). The paper should center on the selected research articles while situating their contributions within the broader academic literature. In addition to presenting the core results and insights, students are expected to provide a critical assessment of the papers' strengths and limitations, as well as discuss possible extensions.
The oral presentation should not exceed 30 minutes (including discussion). Both the presentation and the seminar paper must be prepared in English. To support the preparation process, each student will have at least one individual meeting with an instructor.
Grading will be based on the oral presentation (50%) and the seminar paper (50%).

For a detailed description of the seminar, please consult the Course Outline available on Lernraum and read it carefully.

Bibliography

For each of the topics listed in Course Outline, two core research papers are specified. PDF versions of all listed papers are available in the Lernraum (ekvv). Students are expected to cover the respective papers in their seminar work. In addition, they may incorporate further relevant contributions and are encouraged to situate the findings of the papers within the broader literature on the topic.
Core topics are:
1) Economic Impacts of AI
2) Effects of AI on Productivity
3) AI, Automation, and the Future of Work
4) Effects of AI on the Labor Market and Skill Distribution (1)
5) Effects of AI on the Labor Market and Skill Distribution (2)
6) AI, Algorithmic Pricing and Market Competition (1)
7) AI, Algorithmic Pricing and Market Competition (2)
8) AI and Innovation
9) AI, Intellectual Property, and Creative Ownership
10) AI and Competition Policy
11) AI, Liability and Accountability
12) Diffusion of AI-Based Technologies
13) AI and Human Decision-Making
14) AI and Computational Economics
15) LLMs as New Tools in Economics Research