Economics

This course provides students with an analytical framework and empirics to think about a wide variety of issues in international finance: the current account and balance of payments accounting; inter-temporal trade; the determination of exchange rates; monetary and fiscal policy under fixed and flexible exchange rates; a number of major puzzles in international finance. When time permits, this course also covers a number of relevant current issues: sovereign default, international financial crisis, and monetary unions.

Prerequisites: Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Mathematics for Economists. Please note that you must have working knowledge of calculus and statistics, because this class mainly deals with mathematical economic models.

You will explore and apply theoretical concepts of cognitive psychology to develop an understanding about what enables professionals to become top performers in their field. Throughout the course, you will develop the skill to apply theoretical concepts to(business) practice, cases, as well as to your own experiences and educational situation. This transfer will be done through modeling complex situations and formulating specific implications and recommendations. You will also learn to manage your own and others' learning with a special emphasis on feedback-seeking.

Description

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHOD(S) USED IN THIS COURSE IS WITH RESERVATION. A RE-EMERGENCE OF THE CORONAVIRUS AND NEW COUNTERMEASURES BY THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT MIGHT FORCE COORDINATORS TO CHANGE THE TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS USED. THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEACHING/ASSESSMENT METHOD(S) WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE COURSE SYLLABUS.

When do smart people make stupid decisions? Why can't you force people to be creative? How do you become an expert at something? And why do some experts fail, make mistakes, or become overconfident in decision making? The present course analyzes and examines how people make decisions in business and everyday life. Based on insights from cognitive psychology we explore how professionals make decisions and learn in different work settings. Specifically we will study such topics as cognitive biases, creativity, learning from failure, and expertise development. The course provides a strong foundation in cognitive psychology that can contribute to your understanding in many different domains, such as (behavioral) economics, finance and marketing.

Literature

An e-reader has been compiled with introductory book chapters, academic articles and non-fiction book chapters.

Prerequisites

Students need to be interested in issues of decision-making, learning and human performance. An advanced level of English is crucial to engage in all activities in this course.

This is an interdisciplinary course that addresses sustainability, climate change and how to combine economic development with a healthy environment. Students explore greening the economy and the sustainable development goals on four levels – individual, business, city, and nation, and look at the relationships between these levels. Practical examples of the complexities and solutions across each level are discussed. A particular focus is placed on examples from Scandinavia, but the course also features examples from Europe and around the world.

From the local to the global perspective, economic activity is unevenly distri­buted. Economic geography is concerned with describing, understanding, explaining, and influencing econo­mic territorial patterns and processes. This course overviews economic geography approaches and key concepts. Moving from the local/regional level to the global, main conceptual ideas on the spatial development of industries and of regions at various scales are discussed. This is done through the lens of main actors: firms/entrepreneurs, labor, and institutions. Spatial economy involves a wider societal context surrounding economic processes: socio-cultural, institu­tional, and relational network patterns and characteristics. The course is also an introduction to geography as a wider discipline, and pays attention to the economic landscape of the Netherlands. Course includes real world cases, tutorials, and assignments, and participants actively carry out project assignments that are not only literature based but also include a fieldtrip and fieldwork.

This course provides a study of the main elements that make up the Spanish financial system, its institutions (European Central Bank, Bank of Spain, banking and non-bank financial intermediaries), and its markets (monetary and capital). It examines the current state of financial systems, including the role played by financial institutions, central banks, and different regulators.

Using publicly available information and real-world case studies including Marks & Spencer, Carrefour and Coca-Cola, the course introduces a framework for business analysis and valuation grounded in academic research. Taking students through key analysis components such as business strategy analysis, accounting analysis, financial analysis and prospective analysis in a variety of decision contexts, the course then proceeds to focus on equity valuation. The objective of this second half of the course is to provide students with a detailed, applied knowledge of contemporary valuation methodologies. This includes technical sessions, exploration of the practices in the field and numerous cases and technical exercises.