Vilém Semerák, Ph.D.
This course focuses on applied empirical analysis of trade flows and of effects of trade policies. It is not a course in pure trade theory and we are not going to discuss delicate details of e.g. Melitz model; instead we are going to focus on what needs to be done if we want to provide some reliable facts on actual trade flows and interesting and evidence-based insight into policy-related issues. We will start with rather traditional indicators- and index-based analysis of international trade data, and then we will continue to newer and more complex approaches which will also include gravity models, network analysis, or partial equilibrium simulations of effects of changes in import tariffs. The course will be based on a hands-on approach to learning, throughout the course we will be using actual and up-to-date data on trade flows and students will be calculating indicators and estimating results relevant for current discussions about international trade. Each section will be concluded with a practical demonstration of the use of the methods and concepts.
Vahan Sargsyan, Ph.D.
This course provides an introduction to data science as a profession and focuses on the theoretical methodologies of the most widely applied machine learning models. The main topics covered include: data preparation (data mining, cleaning and exploring strategies), statistical modeling with the application of appropriate machine learning methodologies (data segmentation, predictive analytics), and mathematical evaluation (test-train split and accuracy measures).
Eva Hromadkova, Ph.D.
This course provides an introduction to Health Economics. As such, it will cover the production and demand for healthcare, how the determinants of demand and supply affect the costs of various types of healthcare services and the individual, family, and market investments in health. The field uses the tools of microeconomics and econometrics to examine both theoretically and empirically a number of topics, including the role of health insurance, healthcare in developing countries, and risky behavior.
Aleksandr Levkun, Ph.D.
This course aims to acquaint students with the basics of game theory that allows studying strategic situations. By strategic situations or games, we understand general interactions in which actions of each agent affect the well-being of other agents. Game theory provides an analytic framework and a toolkit for studying such interactions and generating predictions about agents’ behavior. We will cover abstract game theoretic tools for studying static and dynamic games and consider applications of the main ideas from economics and political economy.
Gabriela Kuvíková, Ph.D.
This course aims to provide a basic understanding of today’s changing landscape of financial markets and institutions with a broad scope and emphasis on general principles. Students will study the key fundamentals of financial markets and learn how financial markets and financial institutions work. We will discuss interest rates and their role in valuation, learn about efficient market hypothesis and exchange rate determination, explore money and capital markets, identify various players in the financial institutions industry, and take a closer look at risk management in financial institutions.
Miroslava Federicova, Ph.D.
The human capital of the population is a key determinant of labor-market success and economic growth. This brings the economics of education to the core of understanding individual and societal economic prosperity. This course introduces students to the key concepts and major issues of economics of education, placing emphasis on current empirical research in the field. Topics include: the basic theory of investments in education (human capital theory) and the role of early childhood education; the returns to education and the empirical problem of disentangling the return to education from the return to innate ability; the role of class size, peer effects and school expenditure, etc. After the course, students are expected to be able to read, understand and discuss current research in economics of education, as well as to contribute to the discussion about the current challenges in education.
Ella Sargsyan, Ph.D. candidate
The course will introduce regression analysis and cover some of the most recent econometric techniques central to modern econometric practice. Successful students will gain a deeper understanding of the material discussed in other Distance Learning Program courses. They will be up to speed with Western European students at the same education level, making them more competitive in their further studies and on the labor market. At the end of this course students will understand basic econometric concepts, basic estimation methods, and methods for testing statistical hypotheses. They will be able to apply standard methods of constructing econometric models, process statistical information, obtain statistically sound conclusions, and give meaningful interpretation to the results of the estimated econometric models. In addition, students will gain real data processing skills, using econometric packages for building and estimating econometric models in R.
Martina Miotto, Ph.D.
The goal of this course is to expose students to the newest developments in applied microeconomic research in development economics, particularly policy-oriented research. The topics covered will be especially close to the research agenda of the recent Nobel Prize Winners in Economics: Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer. A further focus of the course is on the study of infrastructure, firms and labor markets in developing countries. Overall, the course offers a thorough understanding of current-day research in development, with a special angle on poverty reduction and private market policies. The goal is to enable students to identify promising research questions in these fields (e.g. for future studies), and to help students prepare for a career as a practitioner in government and non-government development organizations.
Silvester van Koten, Ph.D.
Energy is a basic necessity of daily life and a vital input to industry in any society around the world. New technologies, especially renewable power generators such as wind and solar are changing the industry. Also, new climate policies have a growing influence on the economics and practical functioning of the energy systems. , especially the electricity industry. Firstly, the course aims to give a deeper theoretical insight regarding economic externalities (such as global warming). A number of the classical economic instruments are presented, such as Pigovean taxes, cap-and-trade programs, subsidies and mandates. The theory addressed has broad applications, also in the field of public finance and public policy. Secondly, the course gives an overview of the economics of new potential decarbonization technologies, such as hydrogen, heat pumps, electric cars and gas as a transition fuel. Thirdly the most recent decarbonization developments will be discussed.
Aleksandr Levkun, Ph.D.
This course aims to provide students with the basics of main behavioral theories and empirical methods commonly used to test theoretical predictions. The list of topics includes social preferences, time inconsistency, prospect theory, behavioral finance, attention and information acquisition, and other behavioral heuristics and biases. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to understand the conceptual framework of behavioral economics and its tools, recognize behavioral biases and apply insights from psychology when predicting or analyzing economic decision-making.