Economics

This course covers a method to establish causal relationships in non-experimental data, called “Instrumental Variables”. The course covers panel data, that is, data which tracks individuals over time. It also covers situations when outcome data is discrete in nature, such as “subject I chose option A (and not B)”. A range of simple machine learning methods are discussed which are helpful for classification and prediction tasks. Crucially, the course has a maximum focus on hands-on practice, minimal importance to the derivation of formal results.

Dynamics in the Chinese financial markets has attracted much international attention. This course provides an understanding of how the Chinese financial markets originated and developed, what reforms have been done, the difficulties in future reforms, and possible steps the government would take in the next five years. Starting with a comprehensive introduction, the course covers the major financial markets in China, including the central bank and the banking system, the stock market, the bond market and the foreign exchange market. Each market is an individual topic, for which the course first reviews the fundamental concepts and theories, explains the history and facts in China, presents examples and cases, and talks about the future reforms. 

This course focuses on economic policy and the welfare state in Denmark through international comparison and examples from other developed countries. It covers classic welfare state topics as well as more recent themes and challenges to modern welfare states, focusing especially on the expenditure side of government. The course has an emphasis on recent empirical research on policy issues, and a focus on how to take theory to the data, critically evaluate the validity of empirical designs, and account for policy implications of research results. Each topic looks at economic facts and status quo policies in Denmark and elsewhere, works with the theoretical framework and economic reasoning behind these policies, discusses empirical evidence and evaluations of “what works” in terms of policy in that area, and covers views from the public debate. The course provides an academic foundation for thinking about different policy questions; an understanding of policy in an applied context and as part of the political system and the public debate; an overview of contemporary economic issues related to the welfare state and public sector in Denmark and other developed countries; and an opportunity for students to think as economists about these issues and account for potential challenges, trade-offs, and solutions in an academic way.

Industrialization from the 1880s not only accelerated productivity growth but also transformed Japanese society into a more market-oriented system, the entire process of which is called the industrial revolution. The modern sectors in Japanese society composed a classical market economy from the 1880s to the 1910s. The development in the period was supported by the well-integrated international market and was at least partially accommodated by the pool of slack labor in the traditional sector. 

Those favorable environments were impaired from the 1920s, especially in the 1930s. Without a stable international financial market, the macroeconomic stability of a national economy had to be sustained by individual states. Such an international condition instead exacerbated the difficulty of managing society as the labor market became tighter and the growing modern sector absorbed slack labor in rural regions. In the end, Japan chose a state-coordinated market economy after the experiment of a command economy during the Second World War. 

Then, from the 1980s, the economy gradually returned to the standard, rule-based market economy. This course provides an overview of institutional changes in the Japanese economy from the 1920s to the 2000s and to understand how institutional and organizational factors work in a changing society. 

 

The first part of the course focuses on history and culture, starting with a brief historical view of Danish society since 1800. It then analyzes culture from two perspectives: the history of ideas in Danish society and Danish cultural value systems. This entails a brief introduction to key Danish thinkers and cultural movements and their political impact, and an introduction to Danish cultural values and the development and changes of such values over the last 30 to 40 years. The second part of the course takes an institutional approach to the Danish political system, including its labor market structures and education system, by descriptions of specific societal sectors, drawing on theory about institutional orders and business regimes. Continuing with the institutional approach, the third part of the course focuses more specifically on the business sector leading to a discussion of key industries and types of firms in the Danish economy.

This course develops a rigorous understanding of core economic models and analysis, together with an ability to apply the analysis in a variety of contexts. It looks at the theory of the firm and market structure, factor markets, externalities, the role of government and general equilibrium, with applications to monopoly and oligopoly, stock markets, property rights and public goods. Along with two economics lectures each week, a third lecture focuses on mathematical techniques including constrained optimization. Students with a weak math background need to be prepared to work at developing their math skills.

This course covers fundamental microeconomics tools. The course is divided into five parts: (1) the theory of the consumer, (2) the theory of the firm, (3) partial equilibrium, (4) general equilibrium, and (5) market failures.

This course introduces students to the economics of globalization. It explores reasons why classical economists thought comparative advantage (or differences between countries) was the basis for international trade, when in the past few decades the bulk of international trade has been between very similar countries. Students study the effects of the growing importance of international trade, with a focus on recent trade agreements and their projected consequences. During the second part of the course, students study the causes and effects of migration, and data and policy analysis is conducted to investigate the immigration regimes of some popular migrant destinations.

The course familiarizes students, quantitatively and qualitatively, with important issues in environmental economics and environmental policy making such as anthropogenic global warming, the sustainable use of resources such as fish and forests, and environmental pollution. The course gives you hands-on experience in how to model complex economic and environmental systems, helps you understand the basic natural processes affecting the environment, introduces you to you the main tools and challenges involved in environmental valuation, shows you ways to determine the efficient level of pollution, and discusses the instruments available to policy makers to reach such targets.