Topics in Finance
CBS PhD School
Prerequisites
Participants are expected to:
- Be enrolled in a PhD programme in finance, economics, accounting, or a closely related field.
- Have completed MSc-level courses in asset pricing and corporate finance.
- Have basic training in econometrics (e.g. panel data methods, instrumental variables; familiarity with regression-based empirical work).
Upon acceptance, participants are asked to submit a 2 page note including:
- A short description of their PhD project (or project idea)
- The current stage of their project
- How they hope to relate their project to one or more topics in the course
The note should be submitted before the first class via email (details will be provided upon acceptance).
Aim
The aim of the course is to expose PhD students to a selection of current research topics in modern finance and to help them develop a research profile and job market paper. The students will learn to position and develop their own research projects within the literature. The course emphasizes both conceptual understanding and methodological rigor, and supports participants in formulating and refining their own research ideas.
Content
The course covers a selection of frontier topics in finance. The topics may vary by year.
Each session is built around a small number of recent research articles from leading journal in economics and finance.
Teaching methods
Teaching methods include:
- Short lectures introducing each topic and its main theoretical and empirical issues
- Student presentations of selected papers and short research proposals
- Group discussions and peer feedback on research proposals and research designs
Students are expected to actively participate in discussions and to read the assigned papers carefully in advance of each session.
Lecture plan
| Time and place (Rooms TBA) | Topic |
|
Class 1: Monday March 9 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20. |
Introduction to class, overview of topics, how to write a job market paper |
|
Class 2: Monday March 16 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Intangible capital |
|
Class 3: Monday March 23 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Causal inference and counterfactuals in asset pricing |
|
Class 4: Monday March 30 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Subjective beliefs and behavioral finance |
|
Class 5: Monday April 13 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Convenience yields |
|
Class 6: Tuesday April 21 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Secular trends in finance |
|
Class 7: Monday April 27 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
International finance |
|
Class 8: Monday May 11 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Geopolitics |
|
Class 9: Monday May 18 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Fintec and developments in the banking sector |
|
Class 10: Monday May 25 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Monetary policy transmission through banks and firms |
|
Class 11: Monday June 1 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Monetary policy and asset prices |
|
Class 12: Monday June 8 11.30 to 12:20 and 12:30 to 13:20 |
Cost of capital and real effects of asset markets |
Participation is expected to be in person - no online option.
Learning objectives
After completing the course, participants should be able to:
1. Explain and critically assess key theories and empirical results in selected areas of modern finance.
2. Evaluate recent research articles in terms of identification strategies, modeling choices, and robustness of results.
3. Identify open research questions and feasible extensions within specific finance literatures.
4. Relate the topics and methods covered in the course to their own PhD projects and research designs.
For further information and registration please follow the link to the course page.