Economics

This course explores core questions which lie at the heart of International Political Economy (IPE), the discipline that studies the interactions between states and international markets and the governance of the global economic system. These include, among others: how do politics shape international economic relations and vice versa; who are the winners and losers of economic globalization? Is the global economy stable and why do economic crises happen; why is regional integration so widespread today?

This course introduces students to the study of History and Political Economy. Students consider the difficulties related to data collection and the use of proxies in historical contexts. They review the main methodological approaches used by scholars in this field, and they  probe the advantages and limits of History and Political Economy as a discipline in answering some of the most challenging questions of our time: Why do humans cooperate? What are the origins of democracy and the rule of law? Why are some countries more developed than others? And what lessons can we draw from historical institutions to redesign our own?

This course covers the main concepts of game theory and the tools that game theory provides to analyze economic situations in which there are strategic interactions among agents. It provides an introduction to the different types of games depending on the nature of interaction (static, dynamic or repeated) as well as on the type of information agents have (perfect or imperfect). The course also discusses main equilibrium concepts (Nash equilibrium, sub game perfect equilibrium and Bayesian equilibrium) and their economic applications: non competitive markets, political competition, bilateral bargaining, auctions, voting systems and the problem of cooperation in repeated games.

The purpose of this course is to illustrate and apply economic analysis methods with clear examples. Situational teaching and heuristic thinking enable students to understand various social phenomena from the perspective of "decision-makers" and turn economics into an action science integrating knowledge and action. The goal of this course is to take economics off the blackboard and back to reality, to make decision-making more rational.

This course introduces the economic development of Mainland China after 1949 through a series of research papers. The course is divided into three modules. The first module includes the important aspects of the economic development model, integration into the world economy, technological and structural changes, and reform policies since the implementation of the centrally planned economy period and the implementation of the reform and opening up in 1978. The second module covers the impact of globalization on China's overall economy, labor market, and capital market in 1978. The third module focuses on the dynamic evolution of China's urbanization process and economic geography since the reform and opening up, and discusses the economic impact of related reforms, trade, and space policy changes.

This class covers standard topics in macroeconomics with a focus on short-run macroeconomic issues. The course consists of two big components: first, the course explains the basic theoretical framework for understanding business-cycles as well as monetary and fiscal policies. The course also consists of presentations and discussion sessions. Students will be assigned short papers on good examples of applications of theories of actual macroeconomic problems.

This course introduces game theory, a theory of interactive decision making. This course provides basic solution concepts for different types of non-cooperative games, including static and dynamic games with complete and incomplete information. The basic solution concepts covered are Nash equilibrium, subgame perfect equilibrium, Bayesian equilibrium, and perfect Bayesian equilibrium. This course emphasizes the applications of game theory to economics, such as oligopolies, bargaining, and auctions. 

This course examines modern developments in macroeconomic theory and offers fresh perspectives on current macroeconomic challenges. The course is structured around key questions: What are the forces that drive long-term prosperity? What are the features of labor markets that make them special, and why does unemployment occur? How should households and firms make plans for the future? What are the consequences of high levels of government debt? What are central banks and how do they control interest rates? What are the functions of financial markets, and why are financial crises so violent? Why does economic activity fluctuate and what does austerity have to do with recessions? Can fiscal and monetary policy fine-tune the economy?