Economics

This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of econometrics. It provides students with knowledge of statistical and econometric theory to make them an effective consumer and producer of empirical research in economics. Emphasis is placed on intuitive understanding rather than on rigorous arguments. Throughout the course, concepts are illustrated with applications in economics.

The purpose of this course is to study how investors (both retail and institutional) construct and manage portfolios. The course follows the investment process investors follow in real life. That is from Asset Liability Management to Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation to Portfolio Management, Security Selection, and finally Trading. Each week the course studies a different asset class. Next to traditional assets like listed stocks we look at the added value of real estate, mutual funds, hedge funds, and private equity in order to build diversified portfolios. Finally the course introduces a new development in professional asset management; Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). The course studies the impact of SRI on portfolio return and risk. All topics are explored via real life cases using actual data.

The course covers probability and statistics, focusing on how the mathematical ideas of statistics carry over into the world of applications in economics and finance. It examines statistical concepts from economic perspective. For example, why are statistical concepts (e.g., mean and variance) useful in economics? What are economic intuition and interpretation for the probability and statistical relations?

This course examines the historical and philosophical foundations of economics. It discusses how the history of economic thought has evolved throughout the years by placing the various approaches and methods in economics in their historical context. At the end of this course, students are aware of the rich variety of approaches to analyze economic problems of interest and understand the historic roots of many concepts used in modern economic analyzes.

This course is for students who have studied the principles of economics and will take them through to the next level in their study of microeconomics. The course approach stresses the relevance and application of microeconomic theory in both managerial and public policy decision making. A combination of tables, figures, and simple mathematics are used to provide the grounding in the key principles of microeconomics for further study in the economics programme.

The course provides an introduction to macro-international trade theory and micro-international trade practice. It explores the history and development of China's foreign trade operations, including its challenges, achievements, and potential business opportunities. The course examines both the theory and practice of foreign trade in order to show the direction the country is moving in terms of its trade operations.