Finance Lab

Course Summary

What are the functions of the financial system? Why are banks important? What do central banks do? What are the aims and the tools of monetary policy? What are financial crises and why do they occur?

This course provides answers to these kind of questions by examining how financial systems and institutions work and how they affect our everyday life. The role of banks explains how a huge flow of funds passes through the financial system, affecting business profits, production of goods, services and economic well-being of countries.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the class, students will gain a broad understanding of the key issues in finance and their relationship with the globalized world economy. Students will be able to identify the appropriate theoretical discussions and to evaluate their applications in the "real world".

The course will also focus on current financial events by starting each class with an extensive discussion of what has recently appeared in the financial press, using the analytic frameworks developed in class to help students to understand these developments.

Course Material

Text book: G. Gigante - A. Cerri, Finance Lab, BUP Bocconi University Press (available @ https://bup.egeaonline.it/en/119/book-profiles/190/finance-lab)

Assessment Methods

Friendly qualitative feedback will be given based on the individual class participation and final presentations by small groups.

The course is an introduction to our University’s interactive and hands-on approach to teaching the BSc in International Economics and Finance.