London School of Economics

This course provides an introduction to selected themes in the anthropology of the region in the Southwest Pacific Ocean known as Melanesia. It gives students a grounding in the contemporary anthropology of the region, primarily through a close reading of three book-length ethnographies. The three ethnographies, which are all new since 2013, are Christopher Wright's THE ECHO OF THINGS, an account of what photography means to people in the western Solomon Islands; Alice Street's BIOMEDICINE IN AN UNSTABLE PLACE, an analysis of how persons and diseases are made visible or invisible in a hospital on the north coast of Papua New Guinea; and Maggie Wilson’s A TRUE CHILD OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA (edited by Rosita Henry), the part-memoir/part-"ethnographic biography" of a woman who lived between "two worlds," that of her mother, a New Guinea Highlander, and that of her father, an Australian colonist. These ethnographies not only provide students with focused accounts of three very different contexts in Melanesia, they also address histories, dynamics, and concerns familiar to people living throughout the region. Engagement with these three books is enhanced and supplemented by other readings (including works by Pacific Islanders), ethnographic films, and a visit to the British Museum.

This course examines normative and conceptual theories of politics from a global, transhistorical perspective. Students go beyond current theories of “decolonization” to consider how conversations about political life can be and have been transformed on the basis of distinctive concerns that emerge from specific times and places, marked by different levels of affluence, historical connections (or the lack thereof), textual or oral heritages, as well as the experience of imperialism. The course brings these diverse sources into a meaningful discussion about the political questions that they pose, both on their own and in comparison with others. 
 

The course covers some of the most prominent tools in modelling and simulation. Both deterministic and stochastic models are covered. These include mathematical optimization, the application of sophisticated mathematical methods to make optimal decisions, and simulation, the playing-out of real-life scenarios in a (computer-based) modelling environment. Topics may include formulation of management problems using linear/nonlinear and network models (these could include binary, integer, convex, and stochastic programming models) as well as solving these problems and analyzing the solutions; generating random variables using Monte Carlo simulation; discrete event simulation; variance reduction techniques; Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. The course teaches students to use modelling and simulation computer packages.

This course covers basic concepts of database management systems, including relational and other types of database management systems. The topics covered include basic concepts of the relational model, creating and modifying relations using Structured Query Language (SQL), basic SQL queries using SELECT operator, nested queries, aggregate operators such as GROUP BY, integrity constraints and relations, views, application development using JDBC, Internet protocols such as HTTP and XML, storage and indexing, tree-structured indexing using B+ trees, hash-based indexing, query evaluation and algorithms for relational operations, external sorting, transaction management and concurrency, database schema and normal forms, and overview of NoSQL databases such as key-value stores, document, and graph databases. The course demonstrates how various theoretical principles are implemented in practice in a database management system, such as MySQL, SQLite and PostgreSQL.

This course is divided into two sections introducing recent developments in economic theory and policy analysis. The first half of the course covers economic policy in the global economy. Students study the causes and consequences of international economic integration, focusing on how globalization affects the trade-offs that shape policy. Both theoretical and empirical analyses will be considered. Key topics include international trade, capital flows, migration, technology diffusion, taxation in the global economy, and the relationship between globalization and national sovereignty.

The course explores the economic history of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Many, if not most, of MENA’s contemporary problems cannot be understood without a deep understanding of its history, not only during the postcolonial period, but also during the precolonial and colonial periods. The course first introduces students to the definition of the MENA region, and the broad trends in its history since antiquity. It then examines specific themes that are of great importance for understanding the economic history of the region, such as: how most of MENA’s population became Muslims in the Middle Ages? What do we know about MENA’s economic performance vis-à-vis Europe in the long run? How did “Islamic” institutions emerge? What legal rights did people have over land and labor? Students also discuss state-led development, inequality, education, socioeconomic inequality across ethnoreligious groups, and the demographic transition. Throughout the course, students focus on the view from below, examining the living conditions, preferences, and behavior of local populations, rather than taking a macroeconomic perspective that studies MENA only in comparison to Europe. Students also emphasize the recent developments in MENA economic history based on novel data sources, including MENA local archives, papyrology, medieval chronicles, literary sources, and archeology. In terms of methods, the course will draw upon both qualitative and quantitative approaches to history, employing economic theory, econometric methods, novel data sources, and solid historical evidence.

The main topics covered in this course are financial risk analysis and financial risk. The course provides students with a thorough understanding of market risk from both a practical and technical point of view. A representative list of topics covered includes empirical properties of market prices (fat tails, volatility clusters) and forecasting of conditional volatility; concepts of financial risk (volatility, Value-at-Risk); univariate and multivariate volatility models (ARCH, GARCH); implementation and evaluation of risk forecasts; and endogenous risk. Students apply the models to real financial data using Matlab/Python/R, a programming environment widely used in industry and academia. No prior knowledge of programming is assumed.

The course introduces the student to the statistical analysis of time series data and simple time series models, and showcases what time series analysis can be useful for. Topics include autocorrelation; stationarity, trend removal and seasonal adjustment; AR, MA, ARMA, ARIMA; estimation; forecasting; unit root test; introduction to financial time series and the ARCH/GARCH models; basic spectral analysis. The use of R for time series analysis is covered.

This course explores the complex relationships between development, poverty, and the environment. It covers a range of important natural resource and environmental issues, and provides students with the necessary tools to critically evaluate how these issues have been addressed by different stakeholders and at different levels of governance. Using concepts and analytical tools grounded in political ecology and critical development studies, the course examines several topics, including the politics of sustainable development, environmental governance and tenure, and critical resource issues.

This course teaches students the concepts and tools necessary to inspire better manage innovation with the goal to help you pre-empt the high failure rates associated with innovation in the real world. Emphasis is placed on more contemporary forms of innovation such as open innovation. Interactive case studies, a group project, and innovation exercises form an integral part of the course as innovation cannot simply be taught but must be experienced.