Economics

In this course students study the determinants of economic growth, as well as explanations for the current wide disparity of income levels across countries.

The goal of this course is to understand the relationship between policies, institutions, and economic growth and development. Topics include the analysis of Irish economic growth, economic models of growth, determinants of Irish economic growth, and importance of institutions and geography for the development of modern economies.

Neuroeconomics, sometimes also known as Decision Neuroscience, is an emerging field combining insights from economics, psychology, and neuroscience to understand how (healthy) humans make decisions and how these are related to underlying cognitive and neural processes. The ultimate goal of Neuroeconomics is to integrate knowledge from the different parent disciplines to answer the fundamental question of how our brain makes us decide. This course provides an introduction to Neuroeconomics by discussing examples showing the limitations of viewing decision-making merely through the lens of the traditional fields of economics, psychology, and neuroscience. The course reviews various methods used in Neuroeconomics research for measuring and influencing brain activity. An important part of the course is devoted to learning the foundations and models of Neuroeconomics such as the basics of neuroscience. Seminal and recent studies in Neuroeconomics are read, discussed, and critically evaluated. This interdisciplinary and challenging course consists of lectures and group work. It uses formal concepts from economics and neuroscience. Prerequisites include sufficient quantitative skills and basic knowledge of microeconomics.

This course explores the process and mechanism of the economic development of modern East Asia from the 19th century to the present. East Asia, which includes Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Korean Peninsula, is a rarity in that it has succeeded in economic catch-up with Western European and North American developed countries in the 20th and 21st centuries. This course highlights the relationships and interactions between the countries in the region. 

Microeconomics explores human behavior within society, delving into the reasons behind our actions and their societal implications. This course provides a comprehensive framework to understand these behaviors and their outcomes. The course covers key topics such as Comparative Advantage; Demand and Supply; Market Equilibrium; the Impact of Public Policy on Market Outcomes; Perfectly Competitive Markets; Monopoly, Externalities, and Public Goods.  The course also discusses the relevance and application of these concepts in everyday life.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. This course explores the prominent concepts and theories of competitive and corporate strategy. The study of the core elements of strategic management is combined with the development of the skillset to apply strategy models and tools to case studies from different industries, such as finance and banking arena, including the emergent fintech and digital companies. Students develop their collaborative skills in a role game as consultants to advise the management of a corporation. At the end of the module, students develop an understanding of the most relevant models of company competitive analysis and strategy and are able to identify key factors for organizational performance. Students learn how to set up necessary actions to attain organizational goals in international markets.

This course provides a historical, financial, political, and institutional overview of international financial architecture. The first part of the course reviews the progressive construction of the multilateral system over the last few centuries, with a specific focus on the main UN organizations, the Bretton Woods institutions, and multilateral development banks. In the second part, the course focuses on the limits of the current architecture in the face of the multiplicity of new global challenges (the fight against poverty and inequality, global warming and the protection of biodiversity, food and energy security, the response to pandemics). The course concludes with a reflection on possible ways forward for the current architecture, in an increasingly volatile economic, financial, and geopolitical context. 

This course offers an introduction to the fundamentals of political economy of international relations through the survey of international economic organizations and other global coordination attempts and development economics.
While reviewing all types of countries, it particularly focuses on least developed and transition economies, exploring the relationship between international economic organization mandates, policies, and economic development in
practice. The course does not require a significant background in economics but a fundamental understanding of micro- and macroeconomics is helpful. The course offers a review of theoretical and practical core knowledge and a systematic application through group case studies.

This course focuses on the economic aspects of innovation, diffusion, and protection, and on the effects of innovation at the micro-level of firms, the meso-level of industries, and the macro-level of national economies. Special attention is devoted to the role of green public procurement and innovation in services in the current economy as timely topics. This course includes an Honors component. A background in economics and innovation studies is useful, but not assumed.

This course develops the knowledge of econometric techniques that are useful in the analysis of financial markets and macroeconomic phenomena.