Economics

This course provides an introduction to the principals that govern present and future values of cash-flow streams and the net present values of different real and financial investments. It examines financial market functions and the investment decisions that participating agents face, risk and return linked to asset flows, the different types of derivative assets, and risk management. Other topics include: mathematical financial tools; net present value (NPV); characterization of assets and financial portfolios; capital asset pricing model (CAPM); derivatives.

This course introduces the scale of action taken by local authorities in France, and the political nature of the financial choices that accompany these interventions. Explaining the constraints to which the territorial public sector is subject, both institutionally and financially, and analyzing the reforms undertaken by the State lead to reflection on what decentralization represents in France today and how it is evolving. Learning outcomes include understanding the prospects for the evolution of territorial action in France, comparing this situation with other international models of territorial organization, and reflecting on the present and future role of local authorities in environmental transition policies, and how their financial choices may or may not contribute to this.

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?