Statistics, Finance and Actuarial sciences

Learning goals: The course aims at providing knowledge on financial markets, in order to illustrate, through different approaches, the importance of these markets for the determination of the real variables of the economy, such as consumption, income, investment, development and inequalities. The financial balances of the economy and the national accounting principles will be analyzed in detail, such as: financial constraints on economic activity in conditions of certainty and uncertainty; diversification; asset allocation; portfolio optimization; behavioral finance. Further topics will include market efficiency, the efficiency and stability of the banking systems and the financial globalization and global financialization of modern society. The course aims to understand the role of financial markets and the institutions operating in them, in particular banks. a) Knowledge and understanding The students who complete this course will learn to read the dependence between financial markets and the functioning of the real economy, developing theoretical and practical skills useful for a career or further studies in finance. b) Applying knowledge and understanding Thanks to a detailed overview of many aspects of the financial markets and the current financial globalization and the use of real examples, at the end of the course, the students will be able to formalize the real economic problems and to apply the methods specific to the discipline to solve them. Students will acquire theoretical preparation and, thanks to the analysis of numerous practical cases, the ability to critically study national and international financial markets and to evaluate efficient portfolio combinations in different contexts. c) Making judgments The students will increase not only their theoretical skills but also their critical curiosity in reading economic and financial phenomena and the global financialisation that characterizes the current economic context. d) Communication skills Students, through discussions, drawn from reading newspapers such as the Financial Times, and classroom exercises, will acquire tools for market analysis and financial tools and communication skills. They will also learn how to structure and present a research report. e) Learning skills The students who have passed the exam have learned methods of analysis that will allow them to face other economic courses.