Maastricht University - School of Business and Economics

This course focuses on a limited number of specialized topics in international macroeconomics and finance. These are: short-run and long run determinants of the exchange rate and the role of the exchange rate as an adjustment mechanism between countries; the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal stabilization policies in open economies under fixed and floating exchange rate regimes; the special case of a currency union: the euro area; the role of risk and return in asset pricing and optimal portfolio composition; the determinants of the choice between debt and equity (capital structure) in funding a firm's operations; financial risk management and the use of options. Students are expected to be familiar with the standard concepts taught in first-year undergraduate Macroeconomics and Finance courses.