Economics
This course addresses key aspects of economics, including microeconomics, macroeconomics, and business economics. It also discusses how managers use economic analysis to make important decisions. Specific topics include Cost-Benefits Analysis; The Demand Curve; Inflation, Unemployment, and Interest Rates; and Strategic Behavior, Price Leadership, and Contribution Margins.
Faculty
Prof. Sebastian Edwards
Professor
Sebastian Edwards is the Henry Ford II Professor of International Business Economics at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
From 1993 until April 1996, he was the Chief Economist for the Latin America and Caribbean Region of the World Bank. He is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a member of the advisory board of Transnational Research Corporation and co-chairman of the Inter American Seminar on Economics (IASE).
He is also past-president of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA), an international professional association of economists with academic interests in Latin America and the Caribbean region and a member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Kiel Institute of World Economics, Kiel, Germany. In September 2004, Professor Edwards was appointed to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Council of Economic Advisors.
Edwards has been a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and is the author of more than 200 scientific articles on international economics, macroeconomics and economic development. His articles have appeared in The American Economic Review, The Journal of Monetary Economics, The Economic Journal, Oxford Economic Papers, The Journal of Development Economics, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Economic Perspectives and others. His work and views are frequently quoted in the media, including by the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal and The Economist.
Edwards is an associate editor of The World Economy, the Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, and Analisis Economico. For almost ten years he was the co-editor of the Journal of Development Economics.
Edwards has been a consultant to a number of multilateral institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the IMF, and the OECD. He has also been a consultant to the United States Agency for International Development and to a number of national and international corporations. He has worked in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Tanzania and Venezuela. He has also consulted for a number of international financial institutions and multinational firms.
Sebastian Edwards was born in Santiago, Chile. He was educated at the Catholic University of Chile, and received an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, 1981, University of Chicago
M.A. Economics, 1978, University of Chicago
Licenciado Economics, 1975, Universidad Catolica, Chile
Interests
Mercosur, monetary policy, capital markets, Consumer Price Index, currency crises, devaluation, currency, emerging markets, employment, exchange rates, the Federal Reserve, inequality, inflation, Latin America, Mexico, NAFTA, and poverty
Course Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Use economic concepts to make managerial decisions about such issues as production, pricing, and hiring.
- Use cost/benefit analysis to determine the wisdom of a particular managerial decision.
- Consider macroeconomic complexities such as inflation, interest rates, currency exchange rates, and unemployment rates to evaluate a proposed choice such as global expansion.
Syllabus
Module Components:
Video Lectures:
- Economics as a Decision Tool for Managers
- Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Economic Complexities
Readings:
- Importance of Economics
- A Brief Note on Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Classical Theory of Economics
- The Four schools of Economic Thought
Case Study:
- Case Study: Good Home, Inc.
Quiz:
- Economics
Support
Please email [email protected] for any support required with respect to the program, course or platform.