ECON-S427 Graduate Macroeconomics I (10 ECTS)-1st semester - Philippe Weil
The topics covered include;

• consumption,
• investment,
• real business cycle models,
• growth,
• life-cycle models,
• monetary economics,
• theory of economic policy,
• open economy macroeconomics.
• Familiarity with basic optimization techniques

Some undergraduate macroeconomics is required. The course is complemented by a weekly review session under the supervision of a teaching assistant, and weekly problem sets.

ECON-S428 Graduate Econometrics I (10 ECTS)-1st semester - David Preinerstorfer
The course covers:

• Finite sample theory of linear regression models.
• Basic elements of asymptotic theory (notions of convergence and basic properties; laws of large numbers; central limit theorems).
• Large sample properties of estimators and tests in linear regression models.
• Asymptotics of M-estimators and in particular generalized method of moment estimators (asymptotic theory, examples, and related hypothesis tests).
• Basic elements of time series analysis (basic terminology, stationarity, linear time series models).

ECON-S510 Graduate Microeconomics I (10 ECTS)-1st semester - Georg Kirchsteiger
In this course students learn the fundamental building blocks of microeconomic theory and game theory. Topics are:

• the theories of consumption and production;
• decision under risk and uncertainty;
• partial equilibrium;
• general equilibrium (existence, uniqueness and stability)
• the two welfare theorems;
• core and cooperative game theory;
• normal form games with complete and incomplete information;
• extensive form games.

MATH-S400 Mathematics and Economic Modelling (5 ECTS)-1st semester - Thomas Demuynck
The course covers the following topics:

• Basic introduction into logic and proofs.
• What are the different proof techniques and when to apply them.
• Introduction into real analysis;
• supremum and infimum,
• sequences,
• extreme value theorem and intermediate value theorem,
• Berge's maximum theorem,
• Fixed point theorems: contraction mappings, Brouwer's fixed point, Kakutani's fixed point.

ECON-S429 Graduate Econometrics II (5 ECTS)-2nd semester - Paula Gobbi

ECON-S430 Graduate Macroeconomics II (5 ECTS)-2nd semester - Robert Kollmann
This course gives an introduction to Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models of business cycles and asset prices.

ECON-S431 Graduate Microeconomics II (5 ECTS)-2nd semester - Patric Legros
We will analyze environments in which some of the main assumptions underlying the two welfare theorems of general equilibrium are not satisfied: mainly information asymmetries and externalities. The purpose is to introduce and apply concepts or tools from information economics, decision under uncertainty, contract theory and mechanism.

ECON-S517 Research Topics (5 ECTS)-2nd semester - Philip Verwimp

MATH-S401 Dynamic Optimization (5 ECTS)-2nd semester - Thomas Demuynck
The course focusses on, among others, the following topics:

• Dynamic programming under certainty.
• numerical methods.
• Stochastic dynamic programming.
• Simulation methods.

STAT-F404 Graduate Statistics (5 ECTS)-2nd semester - Thomas Verdebout
The course covers the following topics:

• Conditional expectation/probability,
• Halmos-Savage theorem,
• the factorization criterion,
• minimal sufficiency.
• Rao-Blackwell theorem,
• distribution-freeness and ancillarity.
• Completeness and the Lehmann Scheffé theorem,
• U-statistics.
• Exponential families,
• group equivariance.
• Hypothesis testing: Uniformly most powerfull test, Neyman-Pearson Lemma, Unbiasedness, similarity, Neyman alpha-structure and invariant tests.

STAT-F405 Time Series Analysis 1 (5 ECTS)-1st semester

STAT-F407 Stochastic Models (5 ECTS)-1st semester - Thomas Verdebout
The first part of the course is a review course on probability theory that will help the student to follow the second part of the course and other courses in stochastic calculus, probability and statistics.
In the second part of the course we study different types of processes: Discrete time processes: Martingales and Markov chains. Continuous time processes: Markov processes, Poisson processes and Brownian motions.

ECON-S460 Advanced Topics in Microeconmics (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester - Micael Castanheira

ECON-S519 Graduate Microeconomics III (5 ECTS) - 1st semester - Georg Kirchsteiger & Patrick Legros
Advanced topics in microeconomics. In odd years the couse is given by P. Legros, in even years by G. Kirchsteiger

ECON-S461 Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester - Heiko Hesse

ECON-S520 Graduate Macroeconomics III (5 ECTS) - 1st semester - Philippe Weil
This course covers the following topics:

• Consumption smoothing over dates and states of nature.
• Failures of representative agent models in the intertemporal and in the risk dimension.
• Hansen-Jagganathan mean-variance frontiers. Variation on preferences.
• Modern methods in the economics of uncertainty.
• Precautionary saving.
• Incomplete markets.

ECON-S513 Behavioural Economics (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester - Georg Kirchsteiger
Standard microeconomic theory is based on two main assumptions: Rationality and selfishness. When actual behavior of economic agents - as observed in economic experiments or in the field - does not conform with economic theory, this behavior might either contradict the rationality assumption or the selfishness assumption (or both).
The first part of the course is devoted to the analysis of non-selfish preferences. Based on experimental evidence, we present behavioral models of altruism, envy, fairness, and reciprocity, and show their impact on different economic problems.
The second part of the course deals with boundedly rational behavior, i.e. learning, and its impact on markets.

ECON-S521 Graduate Econometrics III (5 ECTS) - 1st semester - David Preinerstorfer
Special interests of participating students can be taken into consideration (if they broadly fit into the framework below); suggestions are welcome and will be discussed in the first lecture. The general framework of the lecture is as follows:

1. Revision of hypothesis testing, confidence interval construction, and related optimality concepts.
2. (Non-) Testability of hypotheses (Bahadur-Savage-type results)
3. Identification in econometrics.
4. Impossibility results when parameters can be nearly non-identified (applications to testing under weak instruments, unit root testing, Spectral density estimation, and testing for long-range-dependence).
5. Uniform vs. non-uniform asymptotic approximations with a special emphasis on autocorrelation robust testing, model selection, and the zero power trap in testing for spatial or temporal autocorrelation.
6. Impossibility results in high-dimensional testing problems.

STAT-F404 Graduate Statistics (5 ECTS) - 1st semester - Thomas Verdebout
This course covers the following topics:

• Conditional expectation/probability,
• sufficiency,
• Halmos-Savage theorem,
• the factorization criterion,
• minimal sufficiency.
• Rao-Blackwell theorem,
• distribution-freeness and ancillarity.
• Completeness and the Lehmann Scheffé theorem,
• U-statistics.
• Exponential families,
• group equivariance.
• Hypothesis testing:
  • Uniformly most powerfull test,
  • Neyman-Pearson Lemma,
  • Unbiasedness, similarity,
  • Neyman alpha-structure and invariant tests.

STAT-F423 Statistical Learning (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester
The course covers the following topics:

• The 'Data Deluge' and 'Big data' world;
• goals of statistical/machine learning theory;
• mathematical framework;
• classification and Support Vector Machines;
• linear regression problems and high-dimensional statistics (ridge, lasso, etc.);
• kernel methods;
• consistency and complexity issues;
• risk bounds; applications in various fields (economics, finance, computer vision, bioinformatics, etc.)

STAT-F405 Time Series Analysis 1 (5 ECTS) - 1st semester

STAT-F507 Time Series Analysis 2 (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester

STAT-F408 Computational Statististics (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester - Maarten Jansen
The course covers the following topics:

• multiple regression,
• model selection,
• elements of sparsity.
• bootstrap.
• monte carlo,
• MCMC.
• Elements of Bayesian statistical methods

ECON-S432 Advanced International Trade (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester - Paola Conconi
This course is divided into two parts, each with one main goal.
The objective of the first component is to understand the effects of various commercial policies.
The goal of the second part of the course is to explore some topics at the frontier of research in international trade and make each student an “expert” in one of the topics.

ECON-S453 Impact Analysis (5 ECTS) - 1st semester - Philip Verwimp
This course is divided into two parts, each with one main goal. The objective of the first component is to understand the effects of various commercial policies. The goal of the second part of the course is to explore some topics at the frontier of research in international trade and make each student an “expert” in one of the topics.

ECON-S451 Advanced Industrial Organization (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester - Patrick Legros

ECON-S452 Environmental Economics (5 ECTS) - 1st semester - Estelle Cantillon
Not in 2020-21 Environmental economics is the field of economics that studies the interactions between economic activities and the environment (i.e. both the impact of economic activities on the environment, and the impact of the environment on economic activities) and the ways to regulate or organize economic activities to achieve an appropriate balance between environmental, economic and other social goals.
This course provides an introduction to the key concepts, tools and methods of environmental economics, as well as to several environmental policy applications. You will have to learn the foundations that cut across environmental issues but you will also be exposed to some in-depth assessments of specific sectors where governments have to deal with complex decisions to address the market failures at the origin of environmental concerns.
While the course emphasizes public interventions (as is traditional in environmental economics), it also discusses the potential contributions of the private sector and individuals.

ECON-S529 Development Economics (5ECTS) - 2nd semester - Philip Verwimp

ECON-S417 Quantitative Financial Risk (5 ECTS) - 1st semester
The course is mainly focused on volatility (univariate and multivariate) modeling and their use in financial practice, such as risk measurement, portfolio choice and Value at Risk.

ACTU-F402 Lévy Processes in Finance and Insurance (5 ECTS) - 1st semester

INFO-F422 Statistical Foundations of Machine Learning (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester - Gianluca Bontempi
The structure of the course is as follows:

1. Foundations of statistical modelling,
2. parametric estimation,
3. nonparametric estimation and resampling,
4. supervised learning ( model selection, variable selection),
5. algorithms for regression (neural networks, local learning,
6. classification algorithms (KNN, Naive- Bayes, SVM), (vii) applications of machine learning (data mining, text mining, web mining)

STAT-F418 Topics in Nonparametric Smoothing (5 ECTS) - 1st semester - Maarten Jansen
Study of at least one of the following topics:

1. spline smoothing
2. kernel or multiscale local polynomial estimation
3. wavelet or multiscale smoothing.

STAT-F420 Topics in Mathematical Statistics I (5 ECTS) - 1st semester - Thomas Verdebout

STAT-F421 Topics in Mathematical Statistics II (5 ECTS) - 2nd semester - Davy Paindaveine
The content changes regularly, according to the students' profiles and interests. Topics covered in the past include: Statistical depth, Le Cam-type asymptotic inference, Rank-based inference