Business Economics – emlyon

aje on September 2022

This course gives participants a coherent view of core economic concepts from the perspective of managers and policymakers. We will look at the principles of microeconomics that are relevant for managerial decisions, including value creation, supply decisions, and the use of markets to allocate scarce resources. Particular techniques involving the interpretation of market data will be explored to provide a useful, practical toolkit.

The course also exposes participants to some of the key frameworks and models in macroeconomic theory, and provides a policy-oriented decision-making context. Newspapers and social media are full of macroeconomic commentary, but many people can feel intimidated by the terms being used and the thinking behind them. Participants will not only understand why certain decisions were made, but formulate their own views on the arguments in favour and against. In doing so, participations will be obliged to think big about the macro policy environment.

Finally, economics is focused on human action and therefore we will look at some key findings from the behavioural economics literature and how they relate to corporate decision making.

Course textbook:

Schedule: download here

Assessment instructions: download here

Course handouts: download here

Pre class activities
Here is a list of all of the pre-readings:

  • Evans, A.J., “La Marmotte”, January 2012
  • Hild, M., Dwidevy, A., and Raj, A., 2004, “The Biggest Auction Ever: 3G Licensing in Western Europe”, Darden Business Publishing (£)
  • “The Euro in Crisis: Decision Time at the European Central Bank” Harvard Business School case no. 9-711-049 (£)
  • “Josko Joras (A)”, December 2012
  • “Sun: A CEO’s Last Stand”, Business Week, July 26th 2004 (£)

You should consult the schedule below to see additional instructions for each of these readings. There are also links to relevant sections of the textbook but these are not mandatory.

To verify you have the maths skills necessary for this course, complete this quiz.
Day 1: Micro
1. Value creation* (+)

2. Cost curves* (+)

  • Evans, A.J., “La Marmotte”, January 2012
  • Instructions: Complete Exhibit 1 and provide suggestions for the two key decisions
  • Textbook: Chapter 2.2

3. Auctions (+)

  • Hild, M., Dwidevy, A., and Raj, A., 2004, “The Biggest Auction Ever: 3G Licensing in Western Europe”, Darden Business Publishing (£)
  • Discussion question: What are the alternatives to auctions?
  • Textbook: Chapter 3.3

4. Market applications (+)

Extra activity: Aalsmeer – the Dutch flower auction
Day 2: Macro: closed economy
5 & 6. Monetary policy* (+)

7 & 8. Fiscal policy* (+)

Extra activity: NGDP Masterclass
Day 3: Macro: wider issues
9. Macro policy assignment (+)

10. International economics (+)

11. Behavioural economics* (+)

  • “Sun: A CEO’s Last Stand”, Business Week, July 26th 2004 (£)
  • Textbook reading: Chapter 11.1

12. Behavioural economics (contd.)
Revision
If you have not studied economics before I have provided an optional online course that can be used either as preparation or as revision. You will need to set up a free wordpress account and it is available here.

Note:

Sessions marked with an asterix (*) are lectures and have handouts available. Cases marked with a pound sign (£) are available via Canvas. Each session contains a link (+) to additional resources.

Extra

Mountain biking in Lyon with Fabio Wibmer:

Surely the best TV show about the food in Lyon is Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown (season 3 episode 3):