Theory of Individual and Strategic Decisions (TA 2016-2018, part of the highest ranked Psychology graduate programme in the Netherlands)
The course introduces the tools which are necessary to model and analyse individual and strategic decisions. Thereby we do not only introduce the canonical theories but also add some non-standard behavioural approaches. In the first part we treat individual decisions (decision theory), in the second part we deal with strategic decisions (game theory).
Books: Bonanno, Game theory; Bonanno, Decision making; Tadelis, Game theory: an introduction; Rubinstein, Lecture notes in microeconomic theory: the economic agent
Negotiation and Allocation (Substitute TA 2018, Exams 2017-2018)
The course deals with various kinds of situations in which conflicts over scarce resources have to be settled. After an introduction to the basic notions of cooperative game theory, we deal with applications from various fields, like common pool resources, small committee voting, bargaining, matching, fair division procedures and VCG mechanisms.
Book: Journal articles
Industrial Organisation and Public Economics (Guest Lecture on Collective Rent-Seeking 2017)
The courses provides basic knowledge on the theory of contests and tournaments. In these mechanisms, several participants compete for prizes which are awarded according to relative performance. Real-world applications include sports competitions, political campaigns, lobbying contests, job promotion contests, and many others.
Book: Konrad, Strategy in Contests and journal articles
Public Economics (Course coordinator 2018)
This course provides basic knowledge of the functioning and the economic significance of the public sector with an emphasis on international aspects. Some of the topics to be dealt with in the course are: governmental decision-making on the national and international level, role and management of the state in times of globalisation and transnational threats like global warming and international terrorism, important issues pertaining to government expenditure, taxation, and other activities (like public goods, international institutions, education, social security, health care), and mechanisms of political influence (elections and lobbying). These issues will be analysed from a normative - welfare economic - as well as from a positive - explanatory - perspective, with emphasis on the relevance and limitation of traditional economic theory.
Books: Gruber. Public Finance and Public Policy; Hindricks, J. and Myles, Intermediate Public Economics
Principles of Economics (TA 2018-20201, highest ranked Liberal Arts programne in the Netherlands)
The course 'Principles of Economics' introduces economic principles and concepts. The following topics are addressed in lectures and tutorials: supply and demand analysis, perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, game theory, agency theory, and elements of macroeconomics.
Book: Acemoglu, Laibson, and List, Economics
Design of Tax Systems (Substitute TA 2016-2017, TA 2018-2021)
The course covers the main topics in the economics of taxation. The first aim is to provide a theoretical framework for thinking about tax policy. We consider both efficiency and distributional considerations and discuss how they can be optimally balanced in designing a tax system. This theoretical framework is then applied to (i) the major types of taxes, i.e., the personal income tax, the corporation income tax, taxes on consumption and taxes on wealth, and to (ii) a variety of other issues in taxation, such as tax evasion and deficit finance.
Book: Rosen and Gayer, Public Finance
Globalisation Debate (TA 2019-2021)
Globalisation is a controversial economic phenomenon. Is free trade a blessing or a threat? Should all countries open their borders to capital flows? Are Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) necessary for innovation and growth or do they block the diffusion of ideas? What are the economic consequences of migration flows? In this course, students learn the economic tools which will allow them to form an informed opinion on these issues as well as how to put forward their ideas in an organized way (both presenting them orally, via debates in class and in writing, via weekly editorials and a paper assignment).
Book: Journal Articles
Economy Game (TA 2019-2021)
In this course students learn about experimental economics and test some of the theories they learned in their other economics courses in the laboratory. Students participate in a series of market simulations in which they represent consumers, producers or traders. Afterwards they analyse the data of the market simulations and compare them to the standard theory they have learned during their first year. Moreover they will apply the learned concepts to real life situations in their writing assignments.
Book: Course reader
Managerial Economics (TA 2016, 2019-2021)
Managerial economics applies microeconomic principles to managerial issues. Executives, consultants, investment bankers and many other practitioners make daily economic decisions that are following explicitly or implicitly economic laws. Understanding these laws is important for making good decisions concerning diverse managerial problems: devising an effective internal promotion and incentive systems, taking good risky investments at a good point in time, planning and executing take-overs, fighting speculative attacks, pricing products and many more. This course provides the analytical skills and economic insights to analyse such managerial problems without being trapped in everyday biases and truisms. It will provide skills to analyse consumer behaviour and make good product placement and pricing decisions. It will deliver the ability to examine production technologies and firm cost structure but also how a manager should deal with market (in)efficiencies and government interventions like taxes, subsidies, and regulation. It will also discuss problems when playing on securities and insurance markets and how to motivate and share risk with employees. Last but not least, this course will also provide the background for correct strategic thinking and decision-making in the uncertain world of management.
Book: Onderstal, Economics of Organizations and Markets
Economics and Business (TA 2018)
The course 'Economics and Business' introduces economic principles and concepts. The following topics are addressed in lectures and tutorials: supply and demand analysis, perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, game theory, agency theory, and elements of macroeconomics. A parallel skills training in academic writing is an integrated component of the course.
Book: Acemoglu, Laibson, and List, Economics
Microeconomics (TA 2013-2017)
This course is an introduction to microeconomics, the economics branch concerned with the decisions of individual consumers and firms and how these decisions are connected to, and interact on, markets. Consumer decision-making is analysed first, leading to insights into the demand for goods and services at the market level. The analysis of firm behaviour follows, leading to the study of different factors that determine the supply of goods and services. The two sides are integrated to see how markets act to coordinate supply and demand. The course examines four different market structures: perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition. The effects of different market structures on prices, quantities traded and welfare are explained. In general, monopoly has undesirable outcomes, and often prompts government intervention under the rubric of competition policy. The literature studied in the course is applied to some recent cases in competition policy. A parallel skills training integrates basic mathematical tools by discussing formal problems from the microeconomics textbook.
Book: Perloff, Microeconomics
Finance (TA 2013)
This course provides an introduction to the fundamentals of finance. Students learn how capital markets function and how individuals and companies wishing to raise capital approach financial markets. Students learn how to make investment decisions. The basic concepts of risk and return shall be taught. Equity markets and Bond markets are introduced and the tools with which to price stocks, bonds and other financial assets, which trade on financial markets, are covered. Analytical problems are applied to financial problems during tutorial group meetings to ensure students are provided with a solid grounding in finance from both a corporate and a personal perspective.
Book: Berk & De Marzo, Corporate Finance