AEM 4105

The Economics of Crisis

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

In this course, we examine the economic causes, dynamics, and consequences of crises affecting organizations, societies, and the global economy. Drawing on past experiences with Ponzi schemes, price wars, strikes, famines, currency crises, and trade wars, the course explores the sources of market failures, the behavioral rationales that precipitate crises, and the role of institutions in crisis prevention and recovery. This class will introduce students to concepts and tools of game theory, behavioral economics, bargaining theory, and information economics to understand individual and business behavior, as well as models of currency prices and international trade to analyze country-level and transnational economic crises. The course is designed to be hands-on. Each module is supplemented with group activities such as class experiments, data analysis, model simulations, etc.

Prerequisites ECON 1110; ECON 1120; AEM 4190; or equivalents.

Last 4 Terms Offered (None)

Learning Outcomes

• Examine the causes and consequences of economic crises through multiple economic perspectives. The limits and strengths of markets in the context of these conflicts will be emphasized.
• Collect and use experimental evidence, as well as secondary data, to evaluate the determinants and consequences of crises.
• Work with simulation exercises to predict crisis outcomes using models presented in class.

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