Economics

This course teaches basic mathematical tools (linear algebra, multivariate differential calculus, function maximization) to build economic models and do economic analysis. The following mathematical tools are covered: Static Economic Models and The Concept of Equilibrium; Matrix Algebra; Vector Space and Linear Transformation; Determinant, Inverse Matrix, and Cramer's rule; Differential Calculus and Comparative Statics; Comparative Statics--Applications; Optimization; Optimization--Multivariate Case; Optimization--Equality Constraints and Nonlinear Programming; General Equilibrium and Game Theory.

Given the continuously growing impact of the European Union on business, attention to politics is warranted in international business studies. At the same time, governance in the EU is far from straightforward, as it is based on a very complex mixture of political principles, structures, and institutions. This course looks at the wider institutional environment of the firm and provides background for doing business in Europe.  This course is a good option for students aspiring to work for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or business practitioners in Europe. A creative, multidisciplinary approach is taken, using original and challenging literature from the literature on international business, comparative politics, and comparative economic systems. The course material assists in understanding past and current changes in the broader European business & politics landscape.

• -  Students will gain a basic structure about quantitative finance, learn the definition and application of various derivatives, and how to apply binomial trees to price financial derivatives.

• -  Students will learn trading strategies involving call and put options.

• -  Students will master how to apply risk measures such as Value at Risk and Expected Shortfall in risk management framework.

This course covers forwards, futures, swaps, and options. In Part I, students will have good knowledge of how forwards, futures and swaps work, how they are used, and how they are priced. In Part II, we will introduce the mechanics of option markets, properties of stock options, options on stock indices and currencies as well as various types of exotic options. In Part III, theories about binomial trees, Wiener processes, Ito’s Lemma, Black-Scholes-Merton Model will be further illustrated, and market risk measures will be covered.

Unlike other major courses for Economics, this course equips students who are not majoring in economics with a deep, systematic understanding of current economic issues. Hence we deal with the current economic issues in the class. Throughout the course, students engage in a series of discussions on economic issues from economic articles in newspapers, periodicals or economic stories in novels.

This course takes students on a journey of discovery and wider understanding, when thinking about complex sustainable development challenges. The focus is on the global problems of climate change and social inequalities, as well as the societal responses to these, particularly from an economics lens. Contrary to the conventional way of teaching economics, the course pursues a tour-de-force of diverse and rich economic perspectives, rather than following standard textbooks and their typical insistence on a particular strand of economic thinking. The course is problem-oriented with special attention given to critical thinking, differing views, and practical and policy implications. The emphasis is first on observed empirics and factual trends concerning the respective sustainability provocations, before diving into the explanatory body of pluralist economics and wide range of policy actions. Moreover, the course boosts students’ creativity and imagination, engages participants, and allows for plenty of interaction. It also proposes a novel, experimental element to the teaching method by connecting economic thinking with the world of arts and culture to illustrate a point more vividly,

This course introduces the fundamental principles of international finance and its applications. Course topics include the structure, function and operation of Foreign Exchange Market; the concept and theory of balance of payments; models of interest rate parity, purchasing power parity and exchange rate determination to analyze exchange rate changes and forecast exchange rate; the evolution of International Monetary System; Output, exchange rate and macroeconomic policy, and international financial topics.