Economics

Modern capitalist market economy is an extremely powerful instrument to create wealth and to satisfy human demands – and to exploit, alienate, and destroy the very societies it is supposed to serve. How can it be made moral? There are quite a number of ways: for example through deliberate lawmaking, responsible research and development (e.g. technology assessment), through enlightened consumer choices, and sustainable use of human and natural capital assets. But they often come at a high cost and involve more fundamental questions: How can politicians and lawmakers regulate the market for the common good without suffocating it? How can big corporations and tech companies continue to deliver innovative services without monopolizing the market and dominating their customers? What does a fair distribution of income look like? How do we assign value to natural and social goods (like clean air or low crime rates) and how do we measure sustainable welfare beyond traditional economic growth? How can consumers harness their own power to make informed choices and act in accordance with their values? Are digital business models based on artificial intelligence and machine learning threatening the autonomy of consumer choice? What does corporate social responsibility look like in times of crisis? These and other questions are not only of interest to economists and business people but are relevant to all economic agents (individuals, companies, state institutions, etc.). To answer these questions, the course equips participants with key ethical approaches to economic behavior (virtue ethics, religious teachings, deontology, utilitarianism, master morality, neo-liberalism), approaches which have been or still are dominating ethical discourses on economic behavior.

The course covers the real part of trade theory. It is a formal analysis of the reasons for international trade, the way different parties gain or lose from trade, and what can be done about that through trade policy. The subject matter is theoretical in nature, but the theory is illustrated using real life examples and cases.

This course examines the policy, theory, and practice of financial management. Topics include the financial decision-making process in fund raising; using funds, consuming funds, recovering funds and other capital movements; financial relations; methods and principles of financial investment and decisions; and theories of financial management.

The course examines the goals and tools of public policy in the economic sector. Topics covered include: economic policy theory; economic well-being; Keynesian economics; schools of economic policy; institutionalism; public choice theory; monetarism and new classic macroeconomics; price equilibrium and employment; growth, rent distribution, and quality of life; monetary policy; fiscal policy; and supply policy. Previous study of micro- and macroeconomics is recommended.

Beginning in 1978, economic reforms guiding China from a planned economy toward a market-oriented one have promoted the GDP to grow at an over 8% annually. Today, China has become the 2nd largest economy in the world. This course covers the historical background of this transition process and some post-reform topics, such as one child policy, hukou system, and environmental challenges. The course first focuses on the economic behavior and economic lives of Chinese households, then moves to firm’s behaviors. Finally, it discusses macroeconomic policies and financial markets.

This course discusses the basic characteristics of international economy, the process of economic globalization and the influence on firms’ behavior. It examines economic growth and its main drivers, international inequality and international relationships-- trade, foreign direct investment, and the financial system.