Economics

Students will learn the basic concepts and analytical tools of finance in both corporate finance and investments. Topics include time value of money, risk and return, financial institutions, efficient markets, valuation theory, capital budgeting, portfolio theory, and cost of capital. The goal of this course is to equip students with the essential tools to make solid financial decisions in business.

This course analyses the basic concepts associated with competing theoretical perspectives on the nature of the firm and analysis of market coordination. It develops an awareness of how recent advances in the theory of Industrial Organization relate to previously dominant perspectives in the field. Students develop an understanding of how different approaches to Industrial Organization have been applied at the level of specific firms, particular industries, and with regard to concrete policy initiatives. Students learn to outline, evaluate, and illustrate the contributions of transaction cost economics, resource-based theories of the firm, and evolutionary approaches to Industrial Organization; evaluate and illustrate accounts of the market order which highlight the role of social rules, relationships, and conventions in the functioning of competitive processes; and demonstrate the policy relevance of recent theoretical advances in Industrial Organization by evaluating the promotion of quasi-market structures in sectors such as broadcasting.

The course provides an analysis of the economic relationships between countries, covering both trade and monetary issues. The first half of the course deals with international trade theory and policy. Students explore important topics such as why countries trade with each other and the effect of international trade on welfare and income distribution. Students also analyze the role of firm heterogeneity in international trade and the links between globalization and inequality. The second half of the course considers international macroeconomics. Covering key topics such as the balance of payments accounts, open economy income identities, the liquidity trap, and the effect of currency valuations, students gain a comprehensive understanding of the current policy environment and its impact on international trade relations.

This course examines the evolution of money from the gold standard to the present; and, the institutions, instruments, and markets of modern finance, with a special focus on financial innovation and its challenges.