Advanced Academic Writing for Economics, Finance, and Policy Analysis

Note that this schedule is subject to change (depending on the progress that we make on certain topics) Class 1: Introduction to the course and the nature of firms. Class 2: Capital structure: The Cost of Capital, Corporate Finance, and the Theory of Investment. Class 3: Capital structure: Theory of the Firm, Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure. Class 4: Introduction to LaTeX. Class 5: Introduction to LaTeX. Class 6: Investment: The Capital-Asset Pricing Model. Class 7: Corporate governance: Management Entrenchment, the Case of Manager-Specific Investments. Class 8: Payout Policy: Dividend Policy, Growth, and the Valuation of Shares. Class 9: Payout Policy: A Theory of Dividends Based on Tax Clienteles. Class 10: Academic Writing: Research, Researchers, and Readers. Class 11: Academic Writing: Asking Questions, Finding Answers. Class 12: Academic Writing: Asking Questions, Finding Answers. Class 13: Academic Writing: Making a Claim and Supporting It.

The class will be conducted face-to-face, and all lectures will be held in IAR 1214B during the fourth period (14:55–16:40) on Wednesdays.

The final grade for this course is composed of: class participation 30%, assignments 60%, and Tests 10%.

“The Craft of Research,” by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, The University of Chicago Press (ISBN-10: 0-226-82667-8). Note that the corporate-finance lectures will be based on academic papers (see the “Reference” section below). However, if you would like an additional resource, then the book “The Theory of Corporate Finance,” by Jean Tirole, Princeton University Press (ISBN-10: 0-691-12556-2) is recommended. In addition, if you would like (free) books on LaTeX, then the following website lists a number of good options: https://www.linuxlinks.com/*****

Coase, H. (1937), “The Nature of the Firm,” Economica, 4(16), 386-405. Alchian, A. and H. Demsetz (1972), “Production, Information Costs, and Economic Organization,” The American Economic Review, 62(5), 777-795. Modigliani, F. and M. Miller (1958), “The Cost of Capital, Corporate Finance, and the Theory of Investment,” The American Economic Review, 48, 261-297. Jensen, M. and W. Meckling (1973), “Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure,” Journal of Financial Economics, 3, 305-360. Shleifer, A. and R. Vishny (1989), “Management Entrenchment:\ the Case of Manager-Specific Investments,” Journal of Financial Economics, 25, 123-139. Miller, M. and F. Modigliani (1961), “Dividend Policy, Growth, and the Valuation of Shares,” The Journal of Business, 34(4), 411-433. Allen, F., E. Bernardo and I. Welch (2000), “A Theory of Dividends Based on Tax Clienteles,” The Journal of Finance, 55(6), 2000.

Students are expected to attend all lectures (except when they have valid medical reasons) and to actively participate during class (e.g., take notes and ask/answer questions). Students are also encouraged to read the assigned lecture material before each class and attempt all assignments by themselves.