Department of Economics International Exchange Coordinator Prof. Dr. Ulrike Neyer Dr. Achim Hauck Courses in English Language at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics In each of the following courses, exchange students have the opportunity to obtain ECTS-credits. Prerequisites for obtaining ECTS-credits are a passed written or oral exam at the end of the course (per hour per week: 1,5 or 2 ECTS-credits) and/or a successful completion of a research paper (5 ECTS-credits). Economics: Basics II, Output, Employment and Prices Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Neyer Program: Bachelor of Science BV02/BV05 ECTS-Credits: 6 (Start: 2012) The aim of this course is to give students a comprehensive knowledge of macroeconomics. By the end of this course the student is expected to be able to discuss competently macroeconomic phenomena as output fluctuations, unemployment and inflation and the possibilities and limits of policy makers to deal with these problems. Brief contents: First, a survey on major macroeconomic variables (GDP, unemployment rate, inflation rate) is given. How are these variables measured, what are their recent trends? Then, four building blocks of macroeconomic models are derived and analyzed: the goods market, the money market, the production function and the labour market. After that, these building blocks are put together to macroeconomic models under different assumptions (for example, sticky versus flexible nominal wages). Within these macroeconomic models the consequences of supply shocks, demand shocks, monetary policy and fiscal policy for output, employment and prices are analyzed. Finally, a short introduction into New-Keynesian macroeconomic models is given.
Empirical Economics Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Tomaso Duso Program: Bachelor of Science BW23 Hours per week: 6 ECTS-Credits: 12 The Module Empirical Economics will give the students an in-depth introduction into econometrics. We will have two lectures (L) and one class (C) per week for a total of 6 hours. The module is primarily aimed at bachelor students whose main focus is economics (VWL), but it is also open to students whose main focus is business administration (BWL), or students of other disciplines in Social and Economic Sciences who are interested in empirical questions and methods. We will only assume a basic understanding of statistics and mathematics. Understanding of simple economic theory is, of course, an advantage. The module will be held during the summer semester and all parts should be simultaneously attended. (It is possible to exclusively attend the lectures, but it is absolutely NOT recommended... in particular, because the class will be the fun part!). We will start with a refresher of basic concepts in statistics and linear algebra. We will then move onto the introduction to basic econometric tools. Although the use of mathematics (linear algebra) and the formal derivation of the main results is inevitable for a method course, we will very much focus on relevant (economic) applications and the use of data to enhance the students' understanding of the usefulness of the material learned. The lectures are especially aimed at developing the ability to understand empirical tools and will be, therefore, more formal. The focus is mainly on the derivation of different empirical approaches, the intuition behind them, but also the identification of the limits of these methods. In the class, we will apply these methods to real data. Therefore, we will also introduce the students to the econometric software package Stata. Hence, during the course, students will learn to formulate simple empirical questions, collect relevant data, select appropriate empirical methods to be applied to the data, and formulate a meaningful interpretation of the empirical results of their analysis. By the end of the module students will have acquired the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to critically appraise work in the area of applied economics. They will have a good intuitive and theoretical grasp of the uses, pitfalls and problems encountered when doing applied modeling. The module will also equip students with the necessary background material to be able to go on to study more advanced and technical material in the area of econometrics. The skills developed in this module are not only necessary in the context of economic analysis, but also very valuable in practice for the assessment of (economic) policy discussions.
Risk Management and Regulation of Financial Institutions Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Christoph J. Börner MW03 The course is designed to give participants a deep insight in risk management from the perspective of financial institutions, espec. banks. The course deals with both market risks and credit risks. Participants will learn how to estimate expected losses and unexpected losses of financial instruments on an instrumental level and on a portfolio-level by discussing important elements of risk measurement. Moreover participants are provided with a deep knowledge of the instruments of risk management. Therefore theoretical and practical aspects are covered. The discussion of risk management is set into interaction with actual regulatory requirements. As the course is part of the master-program participants must have a solid previous knowledge in finance. The course will include some case work and presentations. Case Studies in Sustainability Management Lecturer: Dipl.-Kff. Regina Lülfs MW07 This is a case study seminar dealing with a variety of real life business situations within the field of Sustainability Management.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship Lecturer: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Hahn MW07 Each Winter Term See English module description MW07 on www.umweltmanagement.uniduesseldorf.de Empirical Methods of Financial Market Analysis Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Albrecht Michler MW08 This course introduces the empirical and especially econometric techniques that are commonly applied to finance, and particularly to resolve problems in market risk analysis. The main focus is on models, that use time series data, and relatively few formal proofs are given. Every section has numerous empirical examples that are implemented in Excel spreadsheets or in Eviews files. Brief contents: Basic Calculus for Finance; Probability and Statistics; Introduction to Linear Regression; Factor Models; Principal Component Analysis; Classical Models of Volatility and Correlation; Introduction to GARCH Models; Time Series Models and Cointegration.
Game Theory Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Hans-Theo Normann MW10 This course provides a profound introduction to game theory at an advanced level. We start with reviewing static and dynamic games of complete information. Further, games of incomplete information will be introduced and analyzed. For all theoretical concepts, applications from business and economics but also from every-day life (e.g. sports) and evolutionary biology will be presented. Whereas most game theory is normative, we will also cover behavioral game theory which is about actual behavior of economic agents. We will review experimental evidence on gametheoretic issues, cover issues like fairness in games, and we will also regularly conduct our own class-room experiments. Industrial Economics Lecturer: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Tobias Wenzel MW10 The objective of the course is to provide an introduction to industrial economics. We will study the market structure, strategic interaction among firms and the economic outcome. The main purpose is to develop a better understanding of economic reasons and intuitions behind firms various strategies. We start with the analysis of a wide variety of imperfectly competitive market structures such as monopoly, oligopoly in markets with homogenous and differentiated products. We proceed with the analysis of various strategic actions in non-price dimensions (e.g. product differentiation and advertising). We also cover policy issues such as cartels and collusion as well as mergers.
Monetary Theory and Policy Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Neyer MW14 Each Winter Term (presumably, this course will not be held in the winter term 2011/12) The aim of this course is to give students a comprehensive knowledge of the functioning of monetary and financial markets and of the transmission of monetary policy. The course shall enable students to understand and analyze institutional aspects of monetary and financial markets and the implications of monetary policy decisions. Brief contents: Meaning and Functions of Money; Central Banks and the Conduct of Monetary Policy; Money Demand and Money Supply; Money, Output and Inflation: Money in Macroeconomic Models; Money and the Open Economy, Discretionary Policy and Time Inconsistency, Risk and Term Structure of Interest Rates. Empirical Industrial Organization Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Tomaso Duso and PhD MW23 This course aims to introduce the student to current methods in Empirical Industrial Organization (EIO). In the first part of the course we will deal with the structural approach developed in the so called New Empirical Industrial Organization (NEIO) framework. After a introductory overview of the historical developments in the field of EIO, we start by looking at techniques for demand estimation in homogeneous and differentiated products markets. We then will move to the simultaneous analysis of demand and supply relationships and compare various methods for estimating firms market power and strategic interactions based on game-theoretic models of oligopolistic competition. In the second part of the course we will look at applications of these techniques to evaluate public policies such as merger control. We will conclude with a discussion of empirical techniques to detect collusion.
Case Study Proseminar Montréal Lecturer: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Hahn MQ01 This course can only be taken in conjunction with the Case Study Seminar Montréal (MQ01 Course 2) in the following winter term and is subject to an application. For more information see the project homepage http://www.sustainability.uni-duesseldorf.de/projekte Case Study Seminar Montréal Lecturer: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Hahn MQ01 Each Winter Term This course can only be taken in conjunction with the Case Study Proseminar Montréal (MQ01 Course 1) in the preceding summer term and is subject to an application. For more information see the project homepage http://www.sustainability.uni-duesseldorf.de/projekte Düsseldorf, April 27, 2011