Economics

This course provides a study of international trade and the effects of various international economic policies on domestic and world welfare, with an empirical focus on China trade and foreign direct investment. The course highlights sources of competitive advantage, gains and losses from trade, the impact of trade on economic growth, and effects of trade policy interventions such as tariffs, quotas, voluntary export restraints, and export subsidies. 

This course addresses some of the major problems of economic development in low- and middle-income economies: the relationship between poverty, inequality, and economic growth; long-run growth and structural change; microeconomic issues in agricultural development, including theories of peasant resource allocation and farm size and efficiency; market performance in the rural and informal sectors of less developed countries; industrialization and trade policy; the roles of monetary policy and foreign aid in resource mobilization; stabilization and structural adjustment; and investment in human capital.

The course discusses the economic analysis of leisure consumption decisions and the economic issues in the leisure industry. It applies the concepts and tools of microeconomics to analyze how a consumer make time allocation decisions on the choice among leisure, consumption, school and work, and how a leisure business manages its supply, demand, investment, and market interactions. The second part of the course covers the macroeconomic issues of leisure, including the impacts of leisure industry on nation’s production, income, employment, economic development and international finance and trade. The course uses case studies and examples to provide understanding of the economic issues in Taiwan's global leisure markets, and how to apply economics to the operations and management in the leisure industry. Text: John Tribe, THE ECONOMICS OF RECREATION, LEISURE & TOURISM. Assessment: final exam (30%), homework, in-class presentation and/or a written report (60%), participation (10%).

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course focuses on: the consequences of international trade and the effects of trade policies; the main approaches to international factor movements, organization of firms, and debates regarding globalization; exchange rates and international capital markets; complex issues raised by the economic interdependence of nations The course covers the following: why do countries trade; what are the consequences of introducing a tariff on imports; why did the EU adopt a single currency; how to make sense of Brexit and Trump's protectionism. This course aims at addressing these issues and many other relevant topics in both international trade and open economy macroeconomics. At the end of the course, students have a sound foundation in international economics and they are able to critically evaluate both micro and macro trade patterns, as well as policy issues. The first module introduces the most important theories of international trade and their predictions for consumers, firms, and governments. In particular, it addresses issues such as determinants of trade flows, gains from trade, and motivation and consequences of protectionist policies. It also covers real-world areas of international trade, such as the EU, the Americas, and Asia. The second module is organized in topics, including, among others, open macroeconomics, optimum currency areas, the European Union and the Euro experience, and the historical and recent migration waves.

This course provides an analysis of portfolio selection, corporate decision making and asset pricing. It also provides the tools and advice needed to understand corporate finance principles and strategies and information on the risks and rewards associated with corporate finance and lending. The lectures develop the central concepts of modern finance: net present value, efficient markets and the trade-off between risk and return, and use them to explain corporate finance with a balance of theory and application. It emphasizes the modern fundamentals of the theory of corporate finance, while providing contemporary examples to make the theory come to life, such as determining an operating budget and calculating future cash flows. The course also covers behavioral corporate finance, which identifies the key psychological obstacles to value maximizing behavior, along with steps that managers can take to mitigate the effects of these obstacles. 

This course examines development economics with a feminist lens. It describes how economic growth and economic development have differential impacts on men, women, intersectional groups, and on gender equality. Based on theoretical perspectives from feminist economics and on human development, the course describes and assess the impact of policy solutions and aid projects. The course introduces concept of gender in general and in relation to the development discourse in particular. It describes how policy has moved from women in development to gender and development and the emergence of post-colonial feminist approaches. Main features of mainstream development economics are contrasted with feminist economics. Labor market and employment is discussed in relation to concepts such as productive/reproductive and formal/informal, with an emphasis on the relevance of these concepts for the global south in particular. Various indicators of economic inequalities are presented and gender disaggregated data is introduced to enhance the understanding of concepts such as the feminization of poverty and multidimensional poverty both theoretically and empirically. A social provisioning approach to the gender dimension of economic life is discussed. The course deepens the understanding of the underlying power structures of economic and gender inequalities. It brings in the broader concept of human development and capability approaches. It discusses ways of conceptualizing and practically working with critical perspectives on men and masculinities in economic development. This course discusses and problematizes the relationship between economic growth and gender equality: to what extent does economic growth impact on gender equality? Does gender equality spur economic development? The course looks at more practical policy solutions to the problem and brings up policies, methods, and strategies for reducing gender inequalities. It gives a short theoretical background to each of the strategies. Examples of strategies that are discussed include women's movements, gender mainstreaming, gender budgeting, micro-credits, and corruption.

This course is designed for students wishing to clarify and advance their career goals through a 16-week internship in Thailand. It provides a structured learning environment to help students make the most of their internship experience. While there are no regularly scheduled class meetings, internships are conducted under the close academic supervision of the Social Policy & Development department at Thammasat University. An assigned internship coordinator provides oversight and guidance for the duration of the internship. The course requires a minimum of 128 total work hours. To facilitate the completion of the internship and maximize skill acquisition, students are required to work at least one full day per week at their internships. Graded Pass/No pass only.

The objective of this course is to understand the basic mechanism of business cycles and price developments (inflation) in Japanese economy particularly after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008. The course also discusses structural changes in the economy affecting recent patterns of business cycles. The course also instructs on practical ways of obtaining Japanese economic data and how to use it effectively to make graphs or tables.  

The course analyzes how the labor market works, how agents in this special market behave, and how governments regulate and set up institutions to govern the labor market. Whether and how much to work, how much to invest in human capital (skills), unionization, and whether and where to migrate are all examples of decisions on the supply side of the labor market. The combination of labor (or different types of labor) and other factors in production, and job creation and job destruction are examples of decisions on the demand side of the labor market. Minimum wages, unemployment insurance, employment protection legislation, and collective bargaining, are examples of institutions governing the labor market. The course covers the following topics: labor supply and demand; labor market equilibrium; human capital, education, and training; compensating wage differentials; immigration; and automation and the future of work.