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 covers the scope of local government activities in France and the political nature of the financial decisions that accompany these initiatives. An explanation of the institutional and financial constraints facing the local public sector, along with an analysis of the reforms undertaken by the state, leads to a reflection on what decentralization means in France today and how it is evolving. The course considers the future prospects for local government action in France and compares this situation with other models of local government organization internationally. It also reflects on the current and future role of local governments in environmental transition policies and how their financial decisions may or may not contribute to them.

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 develops students’ conceptual understanding of equity portfolio management issues and their knowledge of the problems and proposed solutions. It considers several areas like portfolio optimization, expected return determination, index models and CAPM, multi-factor models, together with a focus on new markets/ tools associated with private investment. It also focuses on sustainability concerns. The course is applied and excel will be regularly used throughout the course to provide empirical examples. Prerequisites: basic statistics; matrix multiplication; basic Excel; basic finance.