Syllabus for Sustainability of Financial Markets in the Modern Era

Decisions and guidelines

This course is included the Master's Programme in Global Markets and Local Creativity (GLOCAL).

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student is expected to be able to:

• in an advanced way account for and discuss the fundamental features of financial crises and financial stability mainly during the period 1800-2020.
• independently and critically analyse some of the classic works in this field.
• independently identify and formulate central questions for economic-historical research within the scope of financial markets. This should be done by relating economic-historical perspectives on financial crises and financial stability to other social sciences perspectives.

Content

The financial markets have been of great importance for the emergence of the modern economics. Ever since the world transited from agricultural industrialised economies most countries have been depending on trade cycles and financial markets for economic growth. From this perspective, sustainable financial markets have been fundamental for economic growth. On the other hand, these markets have also demonstrated a turbulent behavior and a tendency for crashes. When economic disturbances have arisen at different times, the whole economics has been influenced. Such turbulence has been observed through a slowdown of the economic growth, increasing unemployment and sometimes political concern.

The central theme for this master's course is to understand both sustainable patterns as well as why and how economic slopes and crashes in the financial market have tended to occur and return and in what ways such declines has been handled through history.

If business slumps and turbulence in the financial market have caused so large problems with regard to sustainability why do they tend they to resurge? During the course, we present example of declines that had a large effect when they occurred.

Even if the declines have differed with regard to origin, influence and endurance, some claim that they also showed certain repeated patterns and had certain functions. A vivid academic debate has arisen around these questions with respect to recurrent patterns.

Such regularities as well as how the declines have been handled are highlighted in the historical examples of the course.

Instruction

The teaching is given in the form of lectures and seminars. The language of instruction is English.

Assessment

The students are assessed through fulfilment of written and oral assignments.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.