Description
This course covers basic concepts, tools and facts needed to understand the functioning of financial markets. It begins with the study of basic concepts and formulas for the valuation of securities, as well as the determination of the various interest rates. The role of Central Banks and the conduct of monetary policy are examined. Some of the institutional details of the U.S. economy are briefly reviewed. The course addresses the most fundamental aspects of portfolio theory, and topics on the economics of financial intermediation, such as incentive problems in bank-borrower relationships, models of bank panics and implications for banking regulations.