79568 - Laboratory in Economics and Finance

Academic Year 2018/2019

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Quantitative Finance (cod. 8854)

Learning outcomes

This crash course provides students with an introductory background to microeconomics and finance, and it is intended as a prerequisite to Economics and Finance courses during the first year of study. The crash course covers concisely the basic foundations of microeconomics (i.e., consumer theory and choice under certainty), macroeconomics (basics of fiscal and monetary policies) and finance (e.g., main financial products, basics of intertemporal valuation and interest rates). Lectures will be accompanied by problem sets which will help students to immediately apply the theoretical concepts presented in class. The list of topics covered is as follows. Economics – (a) The market, (b) Budget constraint, (c) Preference and utility, (d) Choice under certainty (e) basic macroeconomics Finance – (a) Time value of money, (b) Annuities and perpetuities, (c) Zero rates, bonds and yield curve.

Course contents

Microeconomics:

  1. The market
  2. Budget constraint
  3. Preference and utility
  4. Choice under certainty

Macroeconomics:

  1. National Accounts basics
  2. GDP, savings and other macro aggregates
  3. Keynesian multiplier and short-run equilibrium
  4. Central banks, interest rates, basics of fiscal and monetary policy

Accounting:

  1. Balance sheet and Profit and Loss basics
  2. Transactions basics
  3. Main indicators
  4. WACC

Finance:

  1. Time value of money, net present value (NPV), basics of capital budgeting, cash flows calculation
  2. Annuities and perpetuities
  3. Zero rates, bonds and yield curve

Readings/Bibliography

The course material will be distributed during the lectures and consists in slides and excercises.

Teaching methods

Lectures in class (sometimes with slides). Homeworks and review in class.

Assessment methods

No final test, this is a crash course.

Teaching tools

Blackboard, slides, economic/financial articles.

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Bergamaschi