Economics

The course follows a traditional chronological approach (from antiquity to the 1860s), providing an introduction to the development of major schools of thought. The emphasis is on understanding the historical, political, and cultural context that contributed to the emergence of economic doctrines. Neither a history of simple “ideas” nor a history of economic theories alone, this is a contextual history that seeks to explain how and why, in each era, different ways of thinking about economics took hold. It examines how three ages of thought follow on from and intermingle with one another: moral (conforming behavior to norms defining the good life); political (working for the prosperity and power of nations); and scientific (developing a rational explanation of economic behavior and phenomena).

This course presents the Chinese economy and its evolution over the last four decades from a macroeconomic perspective. The world's second-largest economy has several characteristics: it is opaque, constitutes a rare example of a hybrid capitalist system, and has undergone significant changes in recent years. In recent years, the Chinese economy has faced persistent internal imbalances that raise questions about the future changes to its growth model and, more broadly, the implications for its financial and trading partners. This course provides the essential tools for understanding the Chinese economy and its implications for international economic dynamics. 

This course introduces the economic analysis of environmental and natural resource issues using modern applied microeconomic methods. The course explores how economic principles can be applied to understand environmental problems, evaluate policy solutions, and analyze the sustainable use of natural resources. The course emphasizes applying economic theory to real-world policy questions, developing skills in policy analysis and evaluation, and exploring the intersection of economics and environmental stewardship. 

The first few weeks of the course covers classical topics in environmental and natural resources economics. The remainder of the semester focuses on contemporary issues such as environmental justice, climate change, sustainable development, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and carbon neutralization economics with global applications. 

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. This course explores market design, auctions, negotiation strategies, and behavioral economics with a focus on real-world applications and practical experiments. Students gain insights into how markets function, learn negotiation techniques, and analyze human behavior in economic decision-making through hands-on experiments and class discussions. At the course completion, they are able to confront real-world business challenges with confidence and insight, armed with a robust skill set that combines theory, practice, and the science of human behavior.

Students learn about different auction types, their theoretical foundations, and practical implementations. Negotiations, another crucial component of market interactions, involve discussions to reach mutually acceptable agreements. The course covers various negotiation techniques and strategies to improve outcomes. Understanding market design, auctions, and negotiations is crucial for ensuring efficient and fair resource allocation, making strategic business decisions, and developing effective negotiation skills. Behavioral economics provides insights into human decision-making, helping to predict and influence behavior in market settings. This knowledge is vital for professionals in business and economics, policymakers, and individuals aiming to improve their negotiation skills and influence market dynamics. By the end of the course, students possess a robust skill set combining theory, practical applications, and behavioral insights, enabling them to confidently tackle real-world business challenges.

Topics covered in the lessons include: market design, auction theory, applications of auction theory, negotiation and bargaining, behavioral economics, cognitive biases and heuristics, behavioral economics in market design, real world applications and case studies. Prerequisite Knowledge: To successfully complete this course, students should have a foundational understanding of microeconomics, including concepts such as supply and demand, market equilibrium, and basic game theory. Prior coursework in introductory economics or business studies will help in grasping the more advanced topics covered in market design, auctions, and negotiation strategies. Additionally, an interest in behavioral economics and a willingness to engage in hands-on experiments and class discussions will enhance the learning experience.

This colloquium prepares students for writing their bachelor’s thesis by guiding them through research design, literature review, theory development, and academic writing. Students learn to formulate strong research questions, identify research gaps, and structure their projects effectively. Through discussions, workshops, and peer feedback, the course builds essential research and analytical skills for successful independent thesis work.

This course covers economic development in various regions of the world and introduces students to major development problems and policies, both domestic and international. Students explore and analyze models of economic growth, population growth, poverty, income distribution, urbanization and rural-urban migration, health, education, the environment, and international trade and finance, problems of debt burdens, foreign aid, and private and foreign investment. Topics include Economic Growth and Development, Growth Models, Poverty, Income Inequality and Development, Population Growth and Economic Development: Causes, Consequences, and Controversies, Rural and Urban Migration: Theory and Policy, Human Capital and Economic Development, Agricultural Transformation and Rural Development, The Environment and Development, Trade and Economic Development, The Policy Debate: Export Promotion, Import Substitution, and Economic Integration, Balance of Payments, Developing-Country Debt, and Macroeconomic Stabilization Controversy, Foreign Finance, Investment, and Aid: Controversies and Opportunities, and Finance and Fiscal Policy for Development.  

Prerequisite: Introductory economics 

This course covers processes and techniques that help corporate managers make financial decisions in an international setting. 

Instead of introducing fundamental international finance concepts in a simplified one-country setting, this course takes a global approach and studies different nations (with each their own currency) who interact politically, economically, and financially. 

Students examine qualitative and quantitative financial methodologies for making major financial decisions in the international business setting and learn to identify global issues and trends in both academic and practical areas of international finance.  

Prerequisite: Financial Management 

The first part of the course focuses on historical development to illustrate how history matters to understand economic development by examining the forces that kept economies in a long period of slow growth during pre-modern and pre-industrial times, and the mechanisms that enabled some economies to exit stagnation and ultimately embark on a path of sustained economic development. The second part covers fundamental determinants of differences in economic performance. It considers in more detail how and why history matters for economic development, going beyond answers at a proximate level, and studying reasons and mechanisms that explain differences in economic performance at a deeper level. For this, the course relies on the most recent research literature on the impact of historical events on comparative development, and on the economic impact of differences in fundamental characteristics across countries and subnational regions. For example, it examines whether specific dimensions of climate and geography, certain characteristics of culture and institutions, or the coevolution and interdependence between these different types of fundamental determinants, can explain why some economies have been able to build larger stocks of human and physical capital, innovate and adopt new technologies faster, and maintain a trajectory of sustained development more effectively than others; and whether this type of analysis can also illuminate on the reasons behind underdevelopment. The final part of the course explores recent policy debates, including the effectiveness of development policy tools such as foreign aid, the role of industrial policies and active state interventions to promote economic development, and the causes, consequences, and policy demands to address different types of inequality.

This course explores the relationship between workers and firms. It begins by examining the issue of worker motivation from a traditional perspective. Assuming a rational, self-interested, forward-looking, utility-maximizing agent, the course studies the best way to structure that worker’s monetary incentives. It then moves beyond purely financial motives, considering the role of psychological motives like social preferences, self-control issues, loss aversion, belief biases, as well as team dynamics and information frictions. Finally, the course shifts to the firm’s perspective, focusing on worker recruitment and the design of compensation structures within a firm. Throughout the course, students engage with insights from labor economics, personnel economics, and behavioral economics and delve into the empirical methods used to address research questions in these fields, including microeconometric techniques, as well as lab and field experiments.