Supplementary Courses

This course reviews the latest research on central banks transparency and reviews the transformation of central banks to become more transparent, accountable, predictable as an important ingredient for communicating monetary policy and for safeguarding financial stability. The course combines guest speakers, case studies and lectures as part of reviewing the reasons for these developments and for providing markets with forward guidance as part of anchoring long-term inflation expectations. The lecture covers current practice of central banks and discusses the optimal level of transparency for independent institutions and the impact on trust.

Excel is a common tool for modeling und analyzing number driven problems, hence especially those common in finance. Going beyond just quick-and-dirty calculations, its spreadsheet structure and integrated functionality make extensive data analysis possible. Starting from scratch without assuming any prior knowledge, we are going to get acquainted with formulas, diagrams, and add-ins for data analysis. Hands-on applications covered are cash-flow models (basic functions, cell referencing, charts), time series (statistics incl. linear regression), simulation (random numbers, VBA), and portfolios (optimization, data input and management). All examples are implemented together in real-time.

This course aims at understanding the complexity of international taxation.

Topics cover the principles of taxation of unlimited and limited taxpayers as well as: Principles of Tax Credits of Foreign Income, the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income, CFC and BEPS, EUTax Law.

This class aims to provide future professionals in finance with the essential elements they need to understand the ups and downs of economic activity. We'll not only be taking a deep dive into the theoretical concepts behind the analysis of economic cycles and crises carried out by market economists, traders and portfolio managers on a daily basis. We'll also look at the statistical indicators that drive the markets. As the class is resolutely participative and pragmatic in its approach, we will also discuss actual developments in the economy and financial markets, using the theoretical material presented. The course moves back and forth between theoretical elements of analysis and practical applications to economic and financial market conditions of the past and present.

What does economic transformation mean? When have such transformations taken place? What does it take to transform an economic development model and can this be done without disruption? The course will touch on these questions to then explore the current digital and green transformation in Germany. Which economic policy measures are needed to shape and accompany the process for the German economy to be successful in the future? What is the status of digitalization and the progress on climate neutrality? Do both interact, what are the tradeoffs?

This interactive course will provide the students with the conceptual background and the current research on the subject. The students then delve deeper into a specific topic of their choice related to questions raised in the course, present the findings in class and write a short term paper on it.

This is a case-based course designed to give a practical guide to sovereign credit risk analysis. Students will use country data and primary-source material to analyze a country’s real economy, public finances, the external position, and monetary accounts as influenced by the sovereign’s institutional set-up and political economy. Students will learn to identify the multiple drivers that may lead to sovereign debt crises and defaults, appreciating the interdependencies of political, financial, economic, monetary and international factors. In parallel to a theoretical introduction, students are expected to conduct independently a sovereign credit assessment under the guidance of the lecturer and defend it in a simulated “credit committee” situation.

The Seminar addresses a set of fundamental question like:

• Are we in an age of uncertainties and era of policrises?
• How can we define such concepts and how do they overlap?
• Can we somehow assess them objectively and subjectively? 
• Are they more acute than in the past?
• Are they impeding the progress toward institution building and working of existing European institutions? Crises strike Europe hard because of its “incompleteness” and competing priority settings.

• Are they, amongst others, impeding addressing climate change and rising damages and losses stemming from rising climate related extreme events?

  I shall provide some elements to start such a discussion, but the students presentations and papers will then complement and integrate the discussion. Participation to all lectures is compulsory.