Economics

This course develops theoretical and empirical understanding of spatial economic processes in order to study and evaluate a wide range of issues and policies. Particular emphasis is put on regional economies, business and worker location decisions, focusing in particular on models of the location of economic and innovation activity with a particular emphasis on regional economies. The course analyzes the New Economic Geography theories and the agglomeration of economic activity, with a particular focus on EU integration as a testing ground. Students also look at the global and local knowledge economy, focusing on core aspects of a society based on knowledge and technical progress and how this proceeds hand in hand with the enlargement of markets and the intensification of exchange. Students explore the seeming contradiction that geographically localized knowledge may be increasingly significant just as so much of our world becomes more globalized.

This course offers a systematic approach to different types of decision-making problems that allows for thoughtful, sensible, and better decisions that are effective and applicable in a real context. It focuses on the determination and criteria for comparing and assessing different alternatives (certain, uncertain, and risky). This course introduces the game theory reasoning method in a context of complete information. Specifically, it analyzes the concept of equilibrium both in situations of simultaneous and sequential decision-making, and rationalization through a process of dominant alternatives or backward induction.

This course examines the question: what is sustainable development? Other topics include: key concepts linking the economy, society, and environment; social and biophysical limits to growth; pro-growth versus post-growth perspectives on sustainable development. It also discusses current topics in sustainable development and case studies.

The course provides an overview of the Chinese economy: Chinese economic history; the rise of the Chinese private sector; pressing economic issues; the financial system, and economic relationships with other countries in the globalized economy. etc. The course consists of lectures, interactive discussion, real case studies, and presentations. 

This course is an introduction to macroeconomic analysis. Students study how countries’ economic performance is determined in the short and the long run. Students learn about why we observe economic growth and development for some countries but not for others, and why economic activity fluctuates over time (booms and recessions). The course covers the role of policy and how it affects the economy. Emphasis is given to concepts and tools used by macroeconomists in the analysis of macroeconomic phenomena.

This course discusses why some countries are rich but others are poor from the perspective of institutional economics. It follows Douglass North and asks why, under certain institutions, the private return of economic activities is lower than the social return. This question is addressed by studying recent development economics literature with a focus on property rights, contract institutions, taxation, and corruption. In addition, it introduces a variety of methodological approaches to address a number of empirical questions, such as what is the value of political connection in Indonesia, does third-party reporting reduces pollution in India, and why some countries have more complicated government hierarchy whereas others do not. The course builds critical-thinking skill through reading the most recent empirical development economics literature and participating in class discussion. 

This course uses general equilibrium models to study international trade, industrial structures, and structural change. The models are used to discuss and analyze the role of comparative advantage, trade, and productivity differences for industrial structures, resource allocation, and welfare. The course also provides a thorough introduction to game theory to analyze competition in markets with imperfect competition and strategic behavior between firms. It analyzes the impact of trade in markets with imperfect competition and how the gains from trade depend on market structures.

This course introduces the basic tools to understand how to analyze economic phenomena and presents the main topics in macroeconomics and international economics. It focuses on applications and policy implications rather than formal demonstrations to provide a critical perspective on economic models and apply them to many different situations. Critical thinking and knowledge of the basic formal mechanisms of macroeconomic and international trade models is essential. The first module on modern macroeconomics analyzes the determinants of economic well-being in the short and long run and key macroeconomic terms (for example, defining and measuring economic growth, inflation, and unemployment). It examines how the economy grows in the short and long run, the role of productivity, and the impact of the business cycle, as well as the role of monetary and fiscal policies. The second module on policy in the open economy analyzes the financial linkages between different countries, especially regarding the Balance of Payments and its effects on national economies. It also surveys the role of money and finance in the world today and the role of government policies toward the foreign exchange market, including the choice between fixed and floating exchange rates, strategies to keep currencies under or overvalued, and the use of exchange controls to create impediments to currency flows. Finally, it incorporates climate change and income inequality in regular macroeconomic models and examines development problems and the role firms can play in fostering growth.

This course covers the following topics: consumption theory-- consumer preferences and budget constraint, consumer choice, and individual demand; business theory--technology, costs, and benefits; perfectly competitive market-- competitive equilibrium and efficiency and social welfare.

This course consists of three parts. First, it studies the economics of financial markets, with a particular emphasis on interest rates. The second part concerns financial institutions, necessary players for the proper functioning of financial markets. Important topics in this part are (a) asymmetric information problems in financial markets; (b) risk management in banking, and (c) financial crises. The third and last part covers central banks and monetary policy. Understanding monetary policy is important, given its substantial influence on financial markets and overall economic activities.