Case interviews are a key part of our economic consultant hiring process. They help us assess a candidate’s thought process, problem solving, and comfort with ambiguity. They also allow prospective consultants to get a look at what it is we do. In this video, Sam and Siena walk through an example case where we investigate the impact of potential collusion between a cellphone manufacturer and its battery supplier. 00:00 Start 00:35 Case Background 02:10 Question 1: What are some supply and demand factors that may affect the price of a cellphone? 03:33 Question 2: What trend(s) do you observe? What should prices be in the specified years? How much did TalkTek potentially overpay for batteries during this timeframe? 05:53 Question 3: What does the data suggest about TalkTek's overpayments in 2019 and 2020? What were the per unit overcharges? 08:06 Question 4: How are customers impacted by the elevated battery prices? Review the case and try your hand at answering the questions: