Economics

This course examines the role that money and capital markets play in the business and global environment. We first review the structure of financial markets and discuss basic concepts such as money demand and interest rates. We then develop equilibrium theories to understand the behavior of key financial variables such as interest rate, stock price, and exchange rate, and their interactions in global financial markets.  

Students gain enhanced understanding of international financial markets and capital markets and systematically learn the fundamental concepts and determining factors of key elements such as money, interest rates, and term premiums, and study the framework and transmission mechanism of central bank monetary policy.  

The course includes a detailed examination of the key objectives of monetary policy, intermediate targets, and both conventional and unconventional tools used in monetary policy. We explore international financial markets and the global transmission channels of monetary policy, focus on studying the foreign exchange market and exchange rates in detail, and study the experiences and recovery processes of historical financial crises, such as the Asian Financial Crisis and the Global Financial Crisis. Additionally, the course examines the impact of the recent pandemic crisis and inflation shocks, as well as the strategies used to address them. 

This course addresses the history of economic thought, which is done in two sections. The first section traces the elaboration of basic economic principles by classical, socialist, and neoclassical thinkers. The second section splits up 20th century economic thought into its constituent disciplines. The course provides insight into the historical and ideological context in which different economic systems and policies arose. Students interested in interdisciplinary work focus on subjects as diverse as economics, political science, sociology, history, and philosophy.  

This course examines international trade, theory and policy. It will aim to explain patterns of world production and trade and ask if international trade is beneficial. This will be done with the help of models from international trade theory that are important components of the toolkit of contemporary trade economists. It will also explore the phenomena of outsourcing and international mobility of labor (immigration) and capital (Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)). The course will analyze and compare instruments of trade policy and evaluate their impact on domestic and international welfare. Finally, the course will study the world trading system, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international trade agreements. 

The problems facing less developed countries are among the greatest challenges facing the world today. This course focuses on the diverse structures and common characteristics of less developed countries and offers an evaluation of policies being pursued. It begins by discussing the idea of economic development before moving onto sources of and barriers to development. It uses contemporary models of economic development to investigate why some countries are rich and others are poor.

This course provides an intermediate-level study of international financial markets and open economy macroeconomics. Topics include the foreign exchange market, theory of exchange rate determination, open economy macroeconomics, and international macroeconomic policy. Theory, empirical analysis and policy frameworks are studied to analyze current issues and topical problems of international financial economics. 

This course introduces foundations of microeconomic theory, including how individual consumers and producers make decisions and how different market mechanisms operate to allocate resources. The course emphasizes problem solving using calculus (rather than graphs and tables in introductory courses). Therefore, students are expected to have some background in multivariable calculus. 

Economic science was built around the debate over the existence or otherwise of a harmonious, spontaneous order, ensuring the coordination of decentralized individual actions. The notions of order and disorder are understood by economists through the concepts of equilibrium, disequilibrium, optimum, crisis and regulation, as well as rationality and self-control. Equilibrium refers to a situation in which the plans of agents are compatible with each other, and in which the rational decisions of individuals are optimal and coherent. Imbalance, whether in the market or during individual decision-making, refers to the opposite situation. An equilibrium can be optimal, i.e. efficient, or sub-optimal; it can be stable or unstable, i.e. it can reproduce itself or not. This course examines how economic theories have historically tried to answer the question of whether the economy tends spontaneously towards a harmonious or optimal "natural" equilibrium or order, or whether it tends towards imbalance, disorder, crisis or the irrationality of individual decision-making. This questioning implies an inter-disciplinary reading of the discipline of economics, which itself draws on concepts of equilibrium and rationality from the natural and life sciences (such as physics, biology, neuroscience, etc.), as well as from other social and human sciences such as psychology, sociology, philosophy and anthropology.

This course is structured around the organizational content of general mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities. Beginning with the institutional environment of M&A, it systematically elaborates on the strategic choices, procedural steps, valuation modeling, transaction structure design, and financing strategies involved in M&A, all supported by specific case studies. Additionally, the course provides a comprehensive introduction to restructuring activities such as corporate alliances, exit and restructuring strategies, and the dissolution of failing enterprises, as well as cross-border M&A activities. Through this approach, the course aims to thoroughly and systematically present and teach the processes, tools, and solutions related to acquisitions, mergers, and corporate restructuring.

The course shall provide an overview of modern financial technology. Topics include digital banking, trading, artificial intelligence applications, big data, textual analysis, blockchain and regulatory challenges.