Economics

The objective of the course is to explain the core debates in International Development, and to review potential policy interventions at global, national, and sub-national levels. The approach adopted in the course draws from political science and international relations, with a focus on political economy. 

This course uses concepts and tools in microeconomics. The purpose of the course is to clarify phenomena and problems that are inherent in the market economy by an examination of the laws and economic systems that support the internal and contractual structure of the market. In particular, the course focuses on Coase Theorem and its application to nuisance law, sales law, and tort law. This is a lecture course, but students are expected to work on "legal cases" in three groups (plaintiff, defendant, and judge or jury) in each class, and are expected to participate in the deliberations of the cases among the three groups.
 

This course provides an introduction to Market Finance, with both an empirical and theoretical content. The objective is twofold: first, to give students an overview of how financial markets behave, and their main empirical features; second, to provide them with conceptual tools to understand these stylized facts via economic notions: the definition of risk, the quantity of risk, and the price of risk. The course starts with the introduction of these concepts. Via interactive games and experiments, students learn why the definition of risk, and how taking risk should be compensated for, may be complex, individual specific, and time varying. Various financial assets are covered in light of the definitions and concepts studied. In the second part of the course, the empirical evidence observed in financial markets over the past 100 years is studied. Students learn the main facts on financial market behaviors and how the evidence informs our understanding of investors' risk expectations and risk valuations. The pricing of SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) assets is discussed, as well as market behaviors since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.

The course covers the basic theories, main research methods, and practical applications of labor economics. Specific topics for discussion include: basic theories and models of labor economics, human capital investment, education, health, social insurance, medical care, environmental pollution, etc. Specific economic research methods include: experimental method, breakpoint regression method, double difference method, instrumental variable method, etc.

The course focuses on the cultivation of economic intuition, the use of econometric models, empirical methods, and the application of labor economics research methods in many fields in China. Through the teaching, students are expected to understand the basic theories in the field of labor economics, master the basic methods of labor economics analysis, and their application in the economic and social context of China.

The course deals with basic issues in finance, such as risk diversification and asset pricing, capital structure, investment valuation, market efficiency, dividend policy, and the use of derivatives.

During 2022 last year, Japanese economy recovered from the Pandemic Shock. But almost simultaneously it faced many uncertainties. Global wave of inflation made Japanese Consumer Price Index rise by 4% compared to the previous year in December 2022, the highest pace for four decades. As many economists have seen long-lasting low inflation or even deflation in Japan as a signal of its stagnated economy, an emerging interesting question is what can result from this external price shock? After all, do firms and working people in Japan change their static mindset of many years and move towards surge of wages, ultimately leading to higher spending and hence, higher growth? On the other extreme, we cannot rule out the concerns of stagflation. 
Higher inflation has triggered rapid interest rate hikes by central banks globally. While this makes economic slowdown inevitable in 2023, how much it will be is still unpredictable. Looking at China, its sudden loosening of corona restrictions from the end of 2022 is likely to mean higher growth for the world. At the same time though, faster demand expansion of China may offset the impact of anti-inflation measures by other countries and force their central banks to tighten even more. Also, no one is sure which way yen’s exchange rate goes. 
These are just examples of the uncertainties for Japanese economy at the time of this writing (January 2023). However, underlying structural problems for Japan do not go away, either. Japanese population leads the world in terms of aging while its size continues to shrink. This poses strains on social security such as pension and healthcare. Geopolitical tension does not seem to subside as well, continuously making firms to rethink and restructure their cross-border supply chains. 
Many industries are under pressure for transformation. Digital innovations such as AI are the source of business creation by many startups, while they disrupt established business models everywhere. Recently the shockwave is reaching finance and automobile industries, bastion of the modern economy as we know it. In addition, environmental concerns require the whole economy to shift towards carbon-free. While this generates many business chances, it can become another source of industrial disruption. 
Observations mentioned above force us to ask a lot of questions for Japanese economy. What is the impact of monetary policy under a new governor of BOJ? Do we have reliable economic-fiscal scenario to deal with fiscal burden increased by the massive spending to respond to the pandemic as well as the need to sustain social security? 
What policies can improve the prospect of economic growth for Japan? What are reforms most urgently needed? Are they labor market reforms, immigration reforms, or strengthening assistance for families to have more kids? How can Japanese private sector grow more vigorously – more risk-taking by corporations or more fast-growing startups, for example? Can we upgrade Japanese manufacturing sector? Is export-oriented agriculture sector possible? 
These are urgent and crucial issues of our day. Drawing on lecturer's experiences at government, international organization as well as in business, the course tries to deepen our understanding of today's economic problems with the help of economics and through interactive discussion based on data. 

This course examines the main psychological phenomena at play in economic decisions including how knowledge about psychology and economic behavior can be used in practice.