Undergraduate Courses 2017-18

Theory of the firm in a free enterprise system; theory of consumer demand; market structures and resource allocation; selected topics on government regulation.

Theory of the firm in a free enterprise system; theory of consumer demand; market structures and resource allocation; selected topics on government regulation. More topics treated in greater depth than ECON 110.

Theory of national income determination and business fluctuation; monetary and fiscal policies; selected topics in macroeconomic policies and open economy macroeconomics.

Exclusively for Engineering students. Demand and supply analysis; time value of money, risk analysis; cost-benefit analysis; financial intermediaries and markets; planning and financing of engineering products and projects - private and public.

Exclusively for SB&M students. This course provides students with mathematical tools frequently used in economic analysis. Topics include real numbers, single and multivariable functions, matrix algebra, multivariate calculus, convex analysis, and constrained and unconstrained optimization. Examples of economic analysis using these mathematical tools will be included.

The course introduces students to some of the economic principles that have proven to be powerful tools for analyzing real-world problems. A wide range of the most pressing issues of our times will be identified and discussed. The necessary framework for analyzing them will be developed. The course is especially suitable for the concerned non-business citizen-student who wants to fulfill general education requirements. No prior background in economics is required. For those students who have scored grade C or above in HKAL Economics, or those who have taken any ECON courses, approval from the instructors will be required before their enrollment in the course.

Application of economic theory to important real-world problems; discussions of methodology and current controversies.

The course presents a detailed study of basic topics in microeconomics with a special emphasis on using a rigorous analytical and mathematical approach. The topics include demand theory, uncertainty, asymmetric information, general equilibrium, welfare economics, externality, and public good. Multivariate calculus will be extensively used. Exclusively for students of the BSc in Economics and Finance program.

This course will concentrate on introducing the basics terms of macroeconomics, business cycle analysis, money and inflation, current accounts, and exchange rates. Exclusively for students of the BSc in Economics and Finance program.

This is the second course in the microeconomics sequence offered exclusively to the students of BSc in Economics and Finance program. Topics include production theory, firms' behavior under different market structures (perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly), factor demand, and game theory. Emphases are placed on a rigorous analytical and mathematical approach, and multivariate calculus will be used extensively.

This course will focus on long-term economic growth and structural change, theoretical elements of intertemporal macroeconomics, government budgets and deficits.

Demand estimation, business and economic forecasting; production, innovation and cost; market structure, strategic behavior and pricing; decision making under uncertainty; government regulation of business activities; case studies.

This course begins with a critical review of the standard models studied in introductory macroeconomics courses, highlighting their limitations and applicability. In the process, we emphasize the role of expectations and the intertemporal decisions faced by governments, consumers and firms. Building on this foundation, we analyze a host of international macroeconomic and financial issues, including monetary and fiscal policies, exchange rate determination, financial crises, currency risks and their implications for corporate decision-making.

Topics on the use of statistical regression techniques in modeling and estimating economic and business relationships. Both theoretical and applied aspects are addressed.

Market structures and their implications for industry performance and strategic decision-making by firms; entry deterrence, advertising, R&D investments; horizontal and vertical integration, strategic alliances, joint ventures and multi-market interaction.

Internal organization of the firm; theory of contracts and the principal-agent problem; incentive and monitoring schemes; intra-firm cooperation, coordination and conflict; centralized and decentralized corporate structures; case studies.

This course uses tools developed in industrial organization to investigate several interesting aspects of hi-tech industries, such as strategic tying, access fee, two-sided markets, copy protection, and compatibility. Topics include monopoly pricing, price discrimination, product differentiation, barriers to entry, network externalities, search and first-mover advantages, and e-industries.

This course provides a theoretical framework for analyzing the problems faced by China during her reform and development process and for exploring the implications of China's ascendence for the business community.

Occupational choice; labor market analysis and determination of earnings; unions and collective bargaining; employment and job turnover; family, fertility and population issues; training, health, and human capital.

This course applies economic principles to understand various aspects of human behavior once considered outside the realm of economics. Possible topics include irrationality, crime, marriage, and altruism. Both theoretical and empirical analyses are emphasized.

The economic approach to law; externalities, transaction costs, and the "Coase Theorem"; the problem of the commons; the social cost of crime and law enforcement; case studies.

This course introduces students to advanced econometric tools for analyzing cross section and panel data. These tools are useful in areas such as industrial organization, corporate finance, labor and public economics. Topics include: instrumental variable estimation; panel data; discrete choice models; censored and truncated dependent variables; duration models.

This course introduces important econometric methods for the analysis of such financial data as stock prices, exchange rates, interest rates, etc. Topics that will be studied in this course include ARMA models, nonstationary time series, modeling the volatility of financial data, nonlinear models for financial time series and forecasting methods. Applications of these methods to real-life financial data will also be practiced using econometric software.

The use of time series data for business forecasting is examined using the methods of regression analysis, exponential and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) techniques.

Theories of money supply and demand; role of money in business fluctuations, inflation, and growth; banking, financial intermediation, and money supply; targets and instruments of monetary policy; rules versus discretion.

Real and monetary aspects of the international economy; basis for trade and investment; tariff and non-tariff trade barriers; trade and industrial policies; international monetary systems and the mechanisms of adjustment.

Why globalization? Is it good or bad? This course provides students with economic frameworks to analyze and understand globalization. Topics include international trade, foreign direct investment, multinationals, exchange rates, regional trade agreements, WTO, IMF and the World Bank. There are regional case studies on Asian economies, with focus on China and Hong Kong.

Theories of externally and internally induced growth: roles of population, human and physical capital, international trade and investment, technology, and government policies; demographic and economic transition; comparison of development strategies.

Hong Kong's post-war economic performance and prospects for further growth and development; analyses of key sectors; income and wealth distributions; Hong Kong, South China, and strategies for economic upgrading.

For third-year students. Faculty directed independent study.

For third-year students. Special topics in the current development of theoretical and empirical economics; topics vary with instructor.

For Economics students only. This course is to ensure that students will acquire research and communication skills through producing a research-based term paper. The paper may be one that has been written for ECON 395, or any other 200-level or above Economics course that has a term paper requirement. The paper should embody the equivalence of a minimum of two credits of workload if it is written for ECON 395. A standard at grade C or above must be obtained for the paper.