Keuzevakken Master Handelswetenschappen Electives in the Master Business Administration

Choose 1 course out of:

• Advanced Micro-Economics• Culture and Economies• Economics of Innovation• Economics of Social Security and Social Insurance• Environmental Economics• Public Economics

Advanced MicroContents

• Introduction to basic concepts and ideas of Industrial Organization (IO)– IO is concerned with how firms compete

• Focus is on markets with imperfect competition– Central concept is market power

» Is there market power?» How do firms acquire and maintain market power?» What are the implications of market power?» Role for public policy regarding market power?

– Difference between Micro and IO• Micro focuses on perfect competition and

monopoly

Advanced MicroContents

Lecture Chapter Title Chapter

1 Introduction & What Is IO? 1

2 Basic Microeconomics 2 & 3

3 Basic Microeconomics & The Firm 2 & 3

4 Monopoly And Regulation 5

5 Perfect (And Almost Perfect) Competition 6

6 Games and strategy 4

7 Oligopoly 7

8 Collusion 8

9 Market structure and Market power 9

10 Price Discrimination 10

11 Vertical Relations 11

12 Product Differentiation 12

13 Entry Costs, Market Structure and Welfare 14

Small changes in the program are possible, depending on how fast we move.

Advanced MicroApproach

• Weekly lecture– Illustrate and explain most important insights from the

textbook• CABRAL, L. (2000), Introduction to Industrial Organization,

MIT Press

– Where appropriate by means of practical examples– Additional material available on HUBWise

• Slides and mathematical notes

Advanced MicroPrerequisites

• Introductory course in– Micro economics or Managerial Economics– Mathematics for economists

• Simple mathematical skills are required– Solve system of linear equations– 1st and 2nd order derivatives, Integrals– Solve constrained maximization problem

Advanced MicroEvaluation

• Written, closed-book exam– Some (probably 5) multiple choice questions

• 1 point per MC question

– 2 or 3 exercises or open questions

• Test• (1) insight into theoretical concepts of the subject matter• (2) ability to apply theoretical concepts to case studies

Contents Economic activities (work, consumption,

saving,...) and structures (markets, firms, government, households) are immersed in a web of cultural sensemaking

Illustrations Why can one buy some things market (roses

and sex) and others not (children and love)? What about the cultural meaning of market

objects (the status following from a BMW or Apple computer)?

Do the poor want more social welfare provisions and rich less taxes?

Is corruption a cultural or a structural feature?

Culture & Economies

Culture & Economies

First few weeks: theoretical and conceptual introduction

Afterwards: One empirical theme per week, reading before Introductory lecture Assignment in small groups Presentation and discussion

Both quantitative and qualitative studies Scoring system: ¼ assignments, ¾

exam (case and multiple choice)

Approach

Economics of Innovation (Johan Albrecht)

Contents

• What is ‘economics of innovation’, why innovation policy?

• Innovation and industrial evolution• Dynamics of innovation in network

economies (economics of QWERTY)• How to organise innovation policy?

Economics of Innovation

Approach

• Perspective is macro, policy-oriented (not the typical management perspective)

• Building blocks are first introduced • Innovation dynamics in selected industries

are analysed from an historical perspective (IT, biotech) and later applied in the case of energy technology innovations (renewables)

• ex-cathedra (230 students)

Economics of social security and social insurance

Contents

• Welfare state: publicly or privately organised• Sources of financing of the welfare state • Overview of social protection models• Pensions, ageing and early retirement• Health care systems in Europe• Health care system and reform in the US• Unemployment and labour market institutions in

Europe• Child care policies, fertility and female labour

supply• Poverty and income inequality in OECD countries

Pensions, ageing and early retirement

• Demographic ageing• Early retirement

>>> consequences on financial sustainability?

• Why so much political resistance against pension reforms?

Health care systems in EU

• Causes increased health spending?• How can we improve health performance

while limiting health spending?

Health care in the US

• Why health care system US inefficient?• Reform of Obama: the change the US

needs?• Why so much resistance against reforms?

Unemployment in Europe

• In EU: high unemployment and low poverty while in US low unemployment and high poverty >>> trade-off?

• NO: Denmark: flexicurity approach >>> low unemployment and low poverty

Childcare policies, fertility and female labour supply

• Why high fertility and female labour supply in Scandinavia < > low fertility and female labour supply in Mediterranean countries

• Child care policies: – Longer maternity leave? Paternity leave?– Subsidizing public childcare services?– Higher family allowances?

>>>impact on female labour supply, child wellbeing and budget governement?

Poverty

• Causes of poverty?– Low labour demand low-skilled?– Increase of divorced single parent families?– Poor people have no incentive for job search?

• Why poverty low in Sweden and high in UK?

• How to reduce poverty?

Economics of social security and social insurance

Approach • course:

• textbook “Welfare state in the European Union”, Pestieau(2005)

• slides• recent articles for case-studies (on

HUBwise)• exam:

• written• closed book• open questions

Exam questions January 2010

• Fundamental parameters that determine financial sustainability of PAYG pension systems? Should we switch to Fully funded pension systems? Why (not)?

• Reasons inefficiency of US health system? How to improve health performance and/or contain health spending? To what extent is this achieved by the Obama reform?

• Most EU countries finance social protection by payroll taxes. Disadvantages related to this source of financing? Explain!

Environmental EconomicsAcademic year 2010-2011

Johan Eyckmans

Course objectives

• After this course, students should:– be able answer the question: what is, from a society

point of view, the desired level of environmental quality,

– know the most common valuation techniques for non-market goods and services,

– have an insight in the advantages and disadvantages of different environmental policy instruments.

– how profit maximizing businesses should react on specific environmental policy instruments.

Valuation techniques

• Valuation of negative externalities of noise externalities of Brussels airport by means of hedonic price techniques (house sales prices):

Carbon emissions trading

• EU ETS: price formation,fundamentals, future regulatory framework, …

Are we running out of oil?• Hoteling model

2525

p(t)

q(t) e(t)

time

time

T

T

pbackstop 45°

price path

extraction path

S°-S(t) S(t)

Course material

• PPT slides:– HUBwise

• Textbook:– Hanley, N., Shogren, J., and B.

White. 2001. Introduction to Environmental Economics. Oxford University Press.

– Through campus bookshop.– 35£ = 40€ at Amazon.co.uk

Exam

• WRITTEN and CLOSED BOOK exam.• A number of multiple-choice questions [10pt]

– Require theoretical insight into the subject matter. – Correction for random guessing:

• A number of open questions [10pt]– Testing your capacity to situate current environmental

problems and policy instruments in the course material (recent articles and/or case studies).

– Some questions require basic arithmetic skills.

Public Economics

Contents

• Why does a government intervene in the economy?

• And by doing so, can it increase total welfare of its population?

Public EconomicsApproach• We explain government intervention by means

of economic theory• We refer to real life examples:

• Is Obama’s health care reform a good thing for US citizens?

• What is the role of the government in the financial sector?

• Should a government support the construction of the electrical car?

• At the end of the course, students should be able to provide an answer to such questions that is not only based on “gut feeling”.

Choose 1 course out of:

• Advanced Corporate Finance• Corporate Social Responsibility• Decision Making• Economic Law: Capita Selecta

Advanced Corporate Finance

• Even for those with a ‘trauma’ of ‘Financieel Beleid’ or ‘Financial Policy’

• Focus on understanding theory and be able to apply the quantitative elements

Advanced Corporate Finance

Contents

• Mergers and acquisitions• Motives (theory and empirical evidence)• Merger waves• Estimating merger gains and costs

• Corporate Restructuring• Diversification and its value effects• Leveraged (LBO) and management buy out

(MBO)• Spin-offs, equity carve-outs, asset sales• Private equity

Advanced Corporate Finance

Contents

• Valuation• Comparables• Real Options Valuation• Discounted Cash Flow Valuation• Capital Cash Flow Valuation

• Governance and Corporate Control around the world

• Ownership, control and corporate governance• Agency problems• Family ownership

Approach

• Formal lectures • Assignments

• Apply theoretical concepts (calculation of abnormal returns in event studies, valuation of takeover target)

• Case studies

Advanced Corporate Finance

Corporate Social Responsibility

Why CSR?

“…the business policies we adopt, the decisions that we make and the strategies we pursue over the next decade or two will determine the future of our species and the trajectory of the planet for the foreseeable future. That is an awesome responsibility, to say the least. It is also a huge opportunity.”(Stuart Hart, 2005)

Corporate Social Responsibility

Objectives

• To introduce theories, concepts and frames of reference related to different aspects of CSR

• To present tools and instruments for putting CSR in practice

• To stimulate critical reflection on business cases from a CSR point of view

Corporate Social Responsibility

ContentsIntroduction1 General introduction2 CSR from a business practice perspectiveCSR as business-in-context3 Ecological system boundaries4 CSR and social developmentManaging CSR5 Integrating People – Planet - Profit6 CSR and philantropy7 Stakeholdermanagement8 Strategizing CSR9 Systems, guidelines & tools for CSRSpecific topics10 Internal actors: marketing, HRM, fiscality11 External actors: consumers, NGO’s, government12 Integration

Corporate Social Responsibility

Approach

• Theory and practice• Guest lecturers• Cases• Active participation by students• Critical debate

Corporate Social Responsibility

Course materialSlides on HUBWise5 articles (on HUBWise):

• Kakabadse, N., Rozuel, C. & Lee Davies, L. (2005). Corporate Social Responsibility and Stakeholder Approach: a Conceptual Review. (Topic 1)

• Elkington, J. (1994). Towards the Sustainable Corporation: Win-Win-Win Business Strategies for Sustainable Development. (Topic 5)

• Mitchell, R., Bradley, R., Agle, B. & Wood, D. (1997). Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience: Defining the Principle of Who and What Really Counts. (Topic 6)

• Carroll, A. (1991). The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward a Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders. (Topic 7)

• Porter, M. & Kramer, M. (2006). Strategy and Society: The Link between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Optional reading • Fisher, C. & A. Lovell (2009). Business Ethics and Values. Individual, Corporate and

International Perspectives. Harlow: Prentice Hall.• For the Dutch-speaking students: De Prins, M., Devooght, K., Janssens, G. & Molderez, I.

(Eds.) (2009). Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Ondernemen. Van strategische visie tot operationele aanpak. Antwerpen: De Boeck.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Evaluation

• Written exam• Description of 2 concrete cases• Demonstrate you can ground analysis and decisions

with the theories and concepts of the course

Decision MakingLearing Objectives• To obtain in depth-insight into the theoretical framework of a

number of decision-making tools relevant in economics and management and the research conducted regarding this topic

• To understand the application of decision-making tools in a number of already existent case-studies

• Being able to select the appropriate method/tool to a specific decision-making problem

• Being able to apply oneself the appropriate decision-making tool to new problems, following a research-based procedure

• This course is strongly research based and hence of a high academic level, though also very policy- and practice- oriented

Decision MakingCourse Content

PART 1 : INTRODUCTIONChapter 1 : Introduction

PART II : PRIVATE INVESTMENT ANALYSIS (Recapitulated)Chapter 2 : Private investment analysis recapitulated

PART III : SOCIAL COST-BENEFIT ANALYSISChapter 3 : Introduction and welfare economic basisChapter 4 : Measuring costs and benefits in a perfect marketChapter 4b: Example (Iron Rhine Project)Chapter 5 : Measuring costs and benefits in a non perfect

marketChapter 5b: Example continuedChapter 6 : Comparing costs and benefits over timeChapter 7 : The use of decision criteriaChapter 8 : Final thoughts regarding SCBA

Decision MakingCourse Content (2)

PART IV : COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSISChapter 9 : Cost-effectiveness analysis

PART V : REGIONAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDYChapter 10 : Regional economic impact study

PART VI : ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTChapter 11 : (Strategic) Environmental impact assessment

Decision MakingCourse Content (3)

PART VII MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSISChapter 12 : IntroductionChapter 13 : Basic principles of preference relations and

modelsChapter 14 : Generation of a set of actionsChapter 15 : Generation of a set of criteriaChapter 16 : Constructing the evaluation matrixChapter 17 : Intercriteria comparisons and overview of

aggregation proceduresChapter 18 : Overview of various MCA methodsChapter 19 : Personal contributions to and applications of

MCAChapter 20 : Final conclusions regarding MCA

Decision Making

Compulsory Study material

• K. De Brucker (2010), Syllabus Decision-making (vol. I) (copies of lecture schemes), Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, 2010

• K. De Brucker, ed. (2010), Syllabus Decision-making (vol. II) (copies of selected articles), Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, 2010

• Students are also supposed to take notes of the main ideas of the lectures as a complement to the course material provided by the professor

Decision MakingGuidelines for the exam

• Traditional written exam closed book end of semester• Some questions may take the form of an exercise or a (pseudo)

real-life decision-making problem. A limited number of questions may be in the form of MC questions (max. 6 points out of 20)

• Also the compilation of articles (syllabus vol. II) (partly home-study material) are part of the exam material (according to the conditions stipulated for this purpose)

• Reproduction, insight as well as association are tested• Both the faculty of analysis and synthesis are tested• The exam has the same set-up in each of the exam periods• This course is strongly research based and of a high academic

level, though also very policy- and practice-oriented

Decision MakingPrerequisites• Micro-economics (demand and supply, the notion of utility,

willingness to pay, public goods, external effects, market models)

• Basic notions of statistics (measurement scales, etc.)• Basic notions of mathematics (interest rates, discounting,

matrix algebra)• Basic notions of macro-economics (especially GDP,

multipliers, input-output analysis)

Economic Law – Capita Selecta(B. Keirsbilck)

Contents• Basics of EU law and national legal systems• Free movement of goods, persons, services and capital• Preventing unfair commercial practices• Safeguarding competition on the market• Formation and functioning of companies• Protecting intellectual property (copyright, patents & designs,

trademark)• Facilitating contract-making (agency, distribution, licensing,

franchising)• International trade law• Economic law in times of a global financial and

economic crisis• …

Economic Law – Capita Selecta(B. Keirsbilck)

Approach

• Objectives: identifying the main legal issues in cross-border business (within and outside the EU) and knowing how to deal with them in practice

• Presuppositions: active interest in the legal context of doing business and a basic knowledge of law

• Approach:• 13 classes, theory combined with practice• slides, cases and legal materials (directives, …) available

via HUBwise; importance of good class notes• written exam (legal materials published

on HUBwise may be consulted)

Good luck with your choice!