Business Economics – emlyon

This course gives participations 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 participations 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.

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Course textbook:

• Evans, Anthony J., 2020 “Economics: A complete guide for business“, London Publishing Partnership

Course handouts: November / January

Assessment instructions: here.

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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.

Day 1: Micro

1. Value creation* (+) Textbook: Chapter 1.2 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 (+) Textbook: Chapter 3.1, and Chapter 3.2 Extra activity: The Dutch flower auction

Day 2: Macro: closed economy

Before class you should watch this video and pass this quiz. 5 & 6. Monetary policy* (+) “The Euro in Crisis: Decision Time at the European Central Bank” Harvard Business School case no. 9-711-049 (£) The ECB During the Crisis, July 2021 Textbook reference: Chapter 7.5, Chapter 7.6, Chapter 8.1, Chapter 8.2 7 & 8. Fiscal policy* (+) Textbook reference: Chapter 7.1, Chapter 9 After class you should watch this video and pass this quiz. Extra activity: NGDP Masterclass

Day 3: Macro: wider issues

9. Macro Policy Workshop (+) 10. International economics (+) “Josko Joras (A)”, December 2012 Instructions: Complete exercises 1,2, and 3 Textbook reference: Chapter 10.2, Chapter 10.3 11. Behavioural Economics* (+) “Sun: A CEO’s Last Stand”, Business Week, July 26th 2004 (£) Textbook reading: Chapter 11.1 12. Behavioural Economics (contd.)

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

The food in Lyon

• Category: courses