Economics

This course explores the foundation of microeconomic theory at an intermediate level.  The course sequence addresses the broad methodological topics of consumer theory, producer theory, market structure, and contract theory. 
 

Required course prerequisites: Introductory microeconomics, linear algebra, and multivariate calculus.

The course provides an overview of the growth and development of the global economy during the 20th century. To develop an understanding of these processes, the course examines the forces shaping the global economy and the institutions to which it has given rise, from the World Trade Organization to the multinational enterprise. Understanding is aided by the introduction of relevant theoretical perspectives (economic, historical, management, geopolitical). Attention is given to the role of Foreign Direct Investment as a driving force in the integration of developing countries into the globalization process, although the consequences of globalization in relation to the environment, social inequalities and poverty are also examined and other measures of welfare studied. 

This course teaches the theory of political economics, a recently growing area in the field of economics, in which economic theory and game theory are applied to understand political-economic phenomena. 

Course Prerequisites: The lecture assumes that participants have a basic knowledge of microeconomics and game theory at the introductory level. Some algebra, such as differentiation and optimization, will be required.

This course examines economic miracles of Japan and Korea and their central business organizations, keiretsu and chaebols, that brought the success. It then analyzes how they responded to the challenges of the transition from catching‐up economies to mature economies, and how their business organizations functioned in the transition process. The course requires students to take prerequisites.

This intermediate international business course solves a challenge related to the internationalization of companies. As a learning outcome, the class develops skills to understand the processes required to conduct business in Mexico using various input methods while grasping the processes involved and, of course, understanding how cultural differences must be analyzed when doing business in an international context.

Course topics include:

• History of Mexico and the political environment
• Mexican economy
• Mexican infrastructure
• Trade agreements
• Cultural patterns and business protocol
• Management styles
• Work and labor conditions in Mexico

This course offers students insights and different perspectives that can help explain why, over the centuries, some nations and cities succeed in our global economy while others fail. The course is divided into three parts. The first part introduces theories of global economics and the determinants for a nation/city to achieve power and prosperity versus poverty from a historical perspective. The second part examines specific case studies to enhance our understanding of concepts and broad intellectual perspectives to do with international trade, and monetary and financial systems. The course ends with current challenges in the global economy and the way nations and cities might resolve those problems. Special attention is given to the emergence of the world economy in the 21st century and the changing world economic order over time.

This course explores the architecture and politics behind global finance, and how it can be reformed to address the world's most urgent needs: climate change, inequality, debt sustainability, and beyond. The challenge today isn't just what we fund, but how we fund it. Through a mix of academic literature, case studies, student-led presentations, and guest lectures by senior experts from leading institutions, the course explores which actors shape the global economy, how they wield their influence, and what it would take to reform them.

The course develops students' understanding of the classical linear econometric model (ordinary least squares). It covers a range of topics, including estimation and inference in multivariate regression models; the use of limited dependent variables; large sample properties of OLS estimators; multicollinearity and heteroskedasticity. The course develops students' applied skills through the use of appropriate econometric software.

This course introduces key economic principles such as trade-offs, opportunity cost, supply and demand, and market structures. Students learn how markets function, how government policies influence economic outcomes, and how macroeconomic indicators like national income and trade shape the global economy. Emphasis is placed on applying economic reasoning to real-world issues and thinking critically about the limits of economic models.

At a time when liberal democracies are weakened by ideological polarization and the rise of populist movements challenging institutional checks and balances as well as the foundations of rational debate (Trumpism, the Bolsonaro episode, the AfD, etc.), it is becoming vital for future political, administrative, and academic leaders—who are often unfamiliar with scientific fundamentals, particularly in statistics—to acquire a basic grasp of such tools in order to define a framework for contributing to informed debate and evidence-based decision-making. This course provides them with that foundation through the lens of mathematical modeling. Concretely, it offers a rigorous methodology and a practical introduction to statistical modeling, taught through its logical application in structuring arguments and fostering debate. The objective is to equip students with practical tools that will allow them to analyze, interpret, and critically assess the use of data in their future professional environments, whether in strategy, economics, consulting, or public affairs management. With the help of AI-assisted applications, students learn to build, and interpret simple economic models, while developing a critical stance on the limitations and biases inherent in these models. The econometric article by Daron Acemoglu, recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize, serves as one of the course's central threads, alongside more operational examples drawn from the corporate world and public sector. Through these applications, the course also offers students keys to understanding the mathematical foundations behind how artificial intelligence operates. The overarching ambition of this course is to enable students to become autonomous, clear-sighted, and critical actors in the use of data—capable of shaping the framework of public debate and decision-making at a time when perceptions of reality are increasingly influenced and polarized by the subjective interpretations of both populist opinion leaders and the prophets of artificial intelligence and big data.