Economics

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.

Seventeen years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the regulation of financial systems remains a central concern for policymakers and regulators. This course provides a critical analysis of the structural transformations in banking and financial supervision since the 2007–2008 global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis. It addresses the impact of financial deregulation, the mechanics and risks of securitization, and the systemic vulnerabilities revealed by the subprime collapse. Particular emphasis is placed on prudential regulation (e.g. Basel III), the expanded role of central banks, and the regulatory implications of emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

This course examines the history and the characteristics of Chinese economy, culture and politics. Beginning in 1978, economic reforms guiding China from a planned economy toward a market-oriented economy have led China to become the 2nd largest economy in a span of four decades. It will start with the historical background of this transition process with a selective survey of two centuries of modern Chinese economic history. It aims to shed lights on the critical questions that pertain to the long two centuries with episodes of expansion and stagnation. It provides a selective survey on some crucial debates and case studies particularly on historical turning points such as the opening of China during the mid-19th century, the collapse of Qing in 1911, the rise of Communist rule in the 1950s and the adoption of reform policy since the late 1970s. For the reform period, it will turn to major ideology and policy reform paradigms that are critical for understanding the transformation of Chinese economy. It will cover topics such as demography, hukou system, regional inequality, macro and financial reform.

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.

After completing this course students are able to:

• Think conceptually as a micro-economist and as a macro-economist
• Have an understanding of the main differences between different schools of thought in economics
• Apply the relevant economic perspective to problems on the level of the individual actor, market(s), the economy(ies), and government(s).

Content

Economists develop theories aiming to explain human behavior, especially – although not exclusively – when they operate in the context of markets and market economies. The course Introduction to Economics provides an introduction to the fundamentals of economics as a science. The course covers   mainstream neoclassical and Keynesian micro- and macro-economics, as well as other schools of thought.
 

Microeconomics focuses on the functioning of a single market and the way governments could promote it. Economic phenomena are explained from the perspective of individual behavior in a market setting. When some goods cannot be produced by private firms and sold via the market, the government can take the initiative to provide these goods, e.g. public utilities and collective goods such as dikes, defense, and justice.

Macroeconomics explains the functioning of a set of interrelated markets at the national or the international level. Also in this perspective the potential role of government is introduced e.g.  in keeping a system of markets stable or in reaching economic growth.

The last weeks in the course will be dedicated to the topic of "Rethinking Economics", covering a.o., but not exclusively, institutional economics, feminist economics, Marxist economics and econological economics.