Economics

This course gives a brief introduction to the economics of technological change and the labor market. The main aim of this course is to understand the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the demand for workers and on wages. The course considers such questions as what are the effects of ICT on the structures of organizations; how does ICT impact wages and the division of labor? do people with ICT skills earn higher wages?

This course covers the basic principles of security valuation, portfolio management and corporate finance. Topics include: consumption smoothing and investment, mean-variance analysis, CAPM, efficient market hypothesis, pricing of stocks, price movements, IPO, capital structure, dividend policy, loan contracts, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. Students are advised to take ECON1101, 2121, 2011 and 2021 before taking this course.

This course offers an introduction to network science and its major applications within economics. It provides an introduction to the fundamentals of graph theory; develops an understanding of the main network effects; imparts an ability to recognizes and analyzes how networks affect market behavior; illustrates some widely used concepts for the evaluation of networks.

This course provides an introduction to the international legal and regulatory framework for finance, especially banking. It provides both an academic, theoretical framework and a practitioner's perspective. It presents the most important bodies involved in the governance of globalized finance, e.g., IMF, BIS, Basel Committee, FATF. It offers an overview of the international regulation in place, with a focus on the implications of the Global Financial Crisis in sparking regulatory reform. The course also refers to particularly significant experiences at the regional (e.g., the European Union) or national (e.g., United States) level to provide concrete examples. Where appropriate, experts from relevant authorities may be invited to offer students a hands-on perspective.

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. 

The International Internship course develops vital business skills employers are actively seeking in job candidates. This course is comprised of two parts: an internship, and a hybrid academic seminar. Students are placed in an internship within a sector related to their professional ambitions. The hybrid academic seminar, conducted both online and in-person, analyzes and evaluates the workplace culture and the daily working environment students experience. The course is divided into eight career readiness competency modules as set out by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), which guide the course’s learning objectives. During the academic seminar, students reflect weekly on their internship experience within the context of their host culture by comparing and contrasting their experiences with their global internship placement with that of their home culture. Students reflect on their experiences in their internship, the role they have played in the evolution of their experience in their internship placement, and the experiences of their peers in their internship placements. Students develop a greater awareness of their strengths relative to the career readiness competencies, the subtleties and complexities of integrating into a cross-cultural work environment, and how to build and maintain a career search portfolio.