Introduction to decision-making problems. Preference and indifference relations and their properties. Resource allocation decisions under certainty. Linear Programming: real-world problems modelling, variables, constraints, objective function, the feasible region, solutions. Solution methods: graphical analysis (two variables), algebraic method, iterative methods; implementation with Excel. Sensitivity analysis. Duality theory and Integer Programming (hint). Introduction to the theory of financial decisions under risk. Elements of Probability. Ordering operator and its properties. Certainty equivalent: definition and examples. Maximization of the expected value (MVA) criterion, fair price, applications to the theory of insurance. Attitude towards risk. The risk premium. Compound lotteries. Axioms of rationality. Representation theorem of Von Neumann - Morgenstern. Principle of maximization of expected utility. Estimation of the utility function. Attitudes towards risk and the concavity of the utility function. Measure of risk aversion. Quadratic approximation of an utility function. Mean-variance criterion. Random complex operations. FNVA and variance of the NPV of a financial operation. Applications to the insurance and portfolio selection.

Introduction to R. Programming R language. Generating data and data sources. First uni- and bi-variate statistical analysis and applications. Introduction to Multivariate Statistics: data matrix, centroid, variance-corvariance matrix. Mixtures. Cluster Analysis. Hierarchical clustering algorithms and the k-means method. Applications in Marketing. Discriminant Analysis. Predicting Credit Risk of Small Businesses: the Z-score model. ROC curve. Multivariate regression. Estimation techniques, goodness-of-fit, dummy variables, prediction. Market model regression, Production and Cost Function Estimation, Estimating Demand Functions. Logistic regression. Applications.

Besides the topics already included in the box "contenuti", the course will also focus on the main model contracts and cluases. Among them: International Commercial Agency, Distributorship, International Franchising, Subcontracts, Sales of Goods, Technology Trabsfer, Occasional Intermediary Contracts and Trademark Licensing.

o General definitions (definition of tax and income, sources of law, interpretation and integration) o The principles (constitutional, international and EU principles) o Structure of tax (tax liability; taxable persons) o Dynamics of tax (tax return; administrative activities; tax audit; tax assessment; anti-avoidance tax rules; tax collection; tax refunds) o Tax litigation and judicial protection o Individual income tax (income, individual taxpayers, tax base and tax, schedules of income) o Corporate taxation (corporate taxpayers, business income, group taxation) o Value added tax, o Registration tax.

The course is designed to provide a comprehensive representation of the technical instruments available to analyse and evaluate the financial and economical performance of a company. During the course the following specific topics will be discussed: - Reading of Financial statements; - Restatement of financial reports: o Restatement of income statement; o Restatement of balance sheet. - Ratios o Solidity ratios; o Liquidity ratios; o Profitability ratios; o Other ratios. - Cash Flow Analysis - Final comprehensive evaluation

Technology role on process and product innovation. Research role and main actors in new technologies development. Technology models. Production planning. Machinery and plant layout selection. Environmental and technical threats and opportunities on main production inputs. Gross and electric energy balance. Metallurgical and mining industry: energy aspects. Conventional polymers and biopolimers production.

The course is divided into lessons of two hours, whose contents are listed below: • The world system • Globalization • International trade • The forms of economic integration • Freight and Transport • Global Production and Logistics • Internationalization and relocation • Multinational and transnational corporations • Financial flows and foreign direct investments • The criteria for analysing localization in foreign markets • Some useful indexes for market analysis • Multinational corporations: cases and strategies • The global energy market • The agri-business chain • Country cases and investment opportunities: Germany, South Korea

1. EU institutions and functioning after the Lisbon Treaty 2. EU primary and secondary law, and ECJ decisions. 3. European private law: concepts, rules and harmonization 4. Competition law 5. Company law 6. Consumer contract law 7. Product liability 8. Intellectual property rights.

- Course Introduction: teaching goals, contents, teaching methods, course evaluation - The financial system: pillars, actors, and functions - The financial instruments: technical and contractual features; risk-return profiles - The financial markets: major segments and distinctive features - Theory of financial intermediation: information asymmetries, transaction costs, agency costs - Banks and financial institutions: business models, products and services, performance measures - Direct and indirect finance: competitive and complementary relationship between capital markets and banks - Regulation and supervision of financial markets and institutions - Checking accounts, repurchase agreements and other bank liability contracts - Domestic and international payment instruments: from banking currency to virtual currency - Short and medium-long term lending facilities: unsecured credit lines, mortgage loans, mezzanine finance - Issuing securities in the primary capital market: the role of investment banks - Trading securities in the secondary capital markets: the role of brokers, dealers, market makers - Government and corporate bonds: valuation, yield and rating - Mutual funds and principles of asset management strategies - Insurance companies and pension funds - Derivatives contracts and risk management strategies

- Course Introduction: teaching goals, contents, teaching methods, course evaluation - The financial system: pillars, actors, and functions - The financial instruments: technical and contractual features; risk-return profiles - The financial markets: major segments and distinctive features - Theory of financial intermediation: information asymmetries, transaction costs, agency costs - Banks and financial institutions: business models, products and services, performance measures - Direct and indirect finance: competitive and complementary relationship between capital markets and banks - Regulation and supervision of financial markets and institutions - Checking accounts, repurchase agreements and other bank liability contracts - Domestic and international payment instruments: from banking currency to virtual currency - Short and medium-long term lending facilities: unsecured credit lines, mortgage loans, mezzanine finance - Issuing securities in the primary capital market: the role of investment banks - Trading securities in the secondary capital markets: the role of brokers, dealers, market makers - Government and corporate bonds: valuation, yield and rating - Mutual funds and principles of asset management strategies - Insurance companies and pension funds - Derivatives contracts and risk management strategies

- Course Introduction: teaching goals, contents, teaching methods, course evaluation - The financial system: pillars, actors, and functions - The financial instruments: technical and contractual features; risk-return profiles - The financial markets: major segments and distinctive features - Theory of financial intermediation: information asymmetries, transaction costs, agency costs - Banks and financial institutions: business models, products and services, performance measures - Direct and indirect finance: competitive and complementary relationship between capital markets and banks - Regulation and supervision of financial markets and institutions - Checking accounts, repurchase agreements and other bank liability contracts - Domestic and international payment instruments: from banking currency to virtual currency - Short and medium-long term lending facilities: unsecured credit lines, mortgage loans, mezzanine finance - Issuing securities in the primary capital market: the role of investment banks - Trading securities in the secondary capital markets: the role of brokers, dealers, market makers - Government and corporate bonds: valuation, yield and rating - Mutual funds and principles of asset management strategies - Insurance companies and pension funds - Derivatives contracts and risk management strategies

Nature of the firm. Production and remuneration of production factors - Profit and value creation - Information and incentive mechanisms - Fundamentals of competitive strategy - Value creation and competitive advantage - Competitive strategy and value creation - Cost analysis for business decision making. Break-even analysis in mono-output and multi-output firms - Degree of operating leverage - Contribution margin and decision analysis - Make or buy decisions and optimization costs of operating activities in firms - Basic elements of capital budgeting: NPV (Net Present Value), IRR (Internal Rate of Return), Payback Period.

Part I: The firm: input, output, relationships among stakeholders and profit. - The firm as a productive unit: input, output, real and financial aspects. - The relationship between production value and remuneration of production factors. - Accounting profit, economic profit and value creation: theory and applied cases. - The firm as an organizational unit. - Distribution of information and incentive mechanisms. Part II: Firms’ strategies. - Introduction to the concept of strategy - Tools for defining corporate and business strategies. - The analysis of the competitive environment and definition of competitive advantage. - The support of game theory to managerial problems. Part III: Theoretical analysis of production and costs. - The relationship between productivity and costs - Production and combination of different technological processes. - The economic analysis of costs. Part IV: Cost analysis for business decision making. - Criteria for cost classification. - Cost-volume-revenue analysis. - Break-even analysis in mono-output and multi-output firms. - Make or buy decisions. - Degree of operating leverage: definition, calculation and interpretation. - Contribution margin and decision analysis.

Part I: The firm: input, output, relationships among stakeholders and profit. - The firm as a productive unit: input, output, real and financial aspects. - The relationship between production value and remuneration of production factors. - Accounting profit, economic profit and value creation: theory and applied cases. - The firm as an organizational unit. - Distribution of information and incentive mechanisms. Part II: Firms’ strategies. - Introduction to the concept of strategy - Tools for defining corporate and business strategies. - The analysis of the competitive environment and definition of competitive advantage. - The support of game theory to managerial problems. Part III: Theoretical analysis of production and costs. - The relationship between productivity and costs - Production and combination of different technological processes. - The economic analysis of costs. Part IV: Cost analysis for business decision making. - Criteria for cost classification. - Cost-volume-revenue analysis. - Break-even analysis in mono-output and multi-output firms. - Make or buy decisions. - Degree of operating leverage: definition, calculation and interpretation. - Contribution margin and decision analysis.

Novara: The first Module (Public Finance) will be taught in the first semester (October-December 2015), the second Module (Economic Policy) in the second semester (February-May 2016), according to the academic time-table. Module 1- Public Finance (Dr. Giorgia Casalone, Prof. Paolo Ghinetti) - 6 ECTS 1. INTRODUCTION o The Public Sector: role and definitions o Public expenditures and public revenues o Taxation: definitions and classifications o Tax progressivity 2. PERSONAL INCOME TAXES o Generalities o Outline of the Italian income tax (IRPEF) o Principles behind the Italian income tax o The design of the income tax (types of incomes, individual or household income) 3. CORPORATE TAXES o Generalities o Outline of the Italian corporate tax (IRES) o The link between personal income and corporate taxes o The incidence of the corporation income tax and its effect on efficiency 4. CAPITAL INCOME TAXES o Generalities o The special treatment of capital income o International capital taxation 5. TAXES ON CONSUMPTION o Generalities o General taxes on transactions and value-added taxes o Types of taxable transactions o Taxes on international transactions 6. THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM o Rationale for a role of government in the health care sector o Private health insurances and failures o Public health insurance o A comparison among healthcare systems (US, UK and Italy) 7. THE PENSION SYSTEM o Rationale for a role of government in the pension system o Pay-as-you-go versus funded pension schemes o Effects on savings o Pension systems risks o The Italian pension system and the recent reforms 8. LOCAL TAXES AND EXPENDITURES o Rationale for decentralization o Financing local authorities o Transfers to local authorities in Italy o Redistribution and fiscal federalism 9. THE BUDGETARY PROCESS AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE PUBLIC FINANCE o The budget law o The budgetary process in Italy o The Internal Stability Pact Module 2- Economic Policy (Prof. Paolo Ghinetti, Prof. Martin Zagler) - 6 ECTS 10. ECONOMIC GROWTH POLICY o Stylized Facts o The Solow growth model o Technical Progress o The relationship between short, medium and long run 11. EXPECTATIONS o Prices o Basic notions o Fisher equation o Financial markets and expectations o Expectations, consumption and investment o Uncertainty 12. INFLATION AND MONETARY POLICY o Cost of inflation o Hyperinflation o Monetary Policy o Transmission mechanisms o Monetary Policy: rules and constraints 13. DEBT AND FISCAL POLICY o Public deficit and debt o The determinants of public debt o Public debt sustainability 14. THE OPEN ECONOMY o The IS-LM model in the open economy o Economic policy in the open economy o Exchange rate regimes 15. EUROPEAN ECONOMIC POLICY o European institutions o The economic and monetary union o The euro

Economic Growth policy Stylized Facts; The Solow growth model; Technical Progress; The relationship between short, medium and long run EXPECTATIONS Prices; Basic notions; Fisher equation; Financial markets and expectations; Expectations, consumption and investment; Uncertainty INFLATION AND MONETARY POLICY Cost of inflation; Hyperinflation; Monetary Policy; Transmission mechanisms; Monetary Policy: rules and constraints DEBT AND FISCAL POLICY Public deficit and debt ; The determinants of public debt; Public debt sustainability THE OPEN ECONOMY The IS-LM model in the open economy; Economic policy in the open economy; Exchange rate regimes EUROPEAN ECONOMIC POLICY European institutions; The economic and monetary union; The euro

Economic Growth policy Stylized Facts; The Solow growth model; Technical Progress; The relationship between short, medium and long run EXPECTATIONS Prices; Basic notions; Fisher equation; Financial markets and expectations; Expectations, consumption and investment; Uncertainty INFLATION AND MONETARY POLICY Cost of inflation; Hyperinflation; Monetary Policy; Transmission mechanisms; Monetary Policy: rules and constraints DEBT AND FISCAL POLICY Public deficit and debt ; The determinants of public debt; Public debt sustainability THE OPEN ECONOMY The IS-LM model in the open economy; Economic policy in the open economy; Exchange rate regimes EUROPEAN ECONOMIC POLICY European institutions; The economic and monetary union; The euro

Module of Public Finance 1. INTRODUCTION o The Public Sector: role and definitions o Public expenditures and public revenues o Taxation: definitions and classifications o Tax progressivity 2. PERSONAL INCOME TAXES o Generalities o Outline of the Italian income tax (IRPEF) o Principles behind the Italian income tax o The design of the income tax (types of incomes, individual or household income) 3. CORPORATE TAXES o Generalities o Outline of the Italian corporate tax (IRES) o The link between personal income and corporate taxes o The incidence of the corporation income tax and its effect on efficiency 4. CAPITAL INCOME TAXES o Generalities o The special treatment of capital income o International capital taxation 5. TAXES ON CONSUMPTION o Generalities o General taxes on transactions and value-added taxes o Types of taxable transactions o Taxes on international transactions 6. THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM o Rationale for a role of government in the health care sector o Private health insurances and failures o Public health insurance o A comparison among healthcare systems (US, UK and Italy) 7. THE PENSION SYSTEM o Rationale for a role of government in the pension system o Pay-as-you-go versus funded pension schemes o Effects on savings o Pension systems risks o The Italian pension system and the recent reforms 8. LOCAL TAXES AND EXPENDITURES o Rationale for decentralization o Financing local authorities o Transfers to local authorities in Italy o Redistribution and fiscal federalism 9. THE BUDGETARY PROCESS AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE PUBLIC FINANCE o The budget law o The budgetary process in Italy o The Internal Stability Pact

Module of Public Finance 1. INTRODUCTION o The Public Sector: role and definitions o Public expenditures and public revenues o Taxation: definitions and classifications o Tax progressivity 2. PERSONAL INCOME TAXES o Generalities o Outline of the Italian income tax (IRPEF) o Principles behind the Italian income tax o The design of the income tax (types of incomes, individual or household income) 3. CORPORATE TAXES o Generalities o Outline of the Italian corporate tax (IRES) o The link between personal income and corporate taxes o The incidence of the corporation income tax and its effect on efficiency 4. CAPITAL INCOME TAXES o Generalities o The special treatment of capital income o International capital taxation 5. TAXES ON CONSUMPTION o Generalities o General taxes on transactions and value-added taxes o Types of taxable transactions o Taxes on international transactions 6. THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM o Rationale for a role of government in the health care sector o Private health insurances and failures o Public health insurance o A comparison among healthcare systems (US, UK and Italy) 7. THE PENSION SYSTEM o Rationale for a role of government in the pension system o Pay-as-you-go versus funded pension schemes o Effects on savings o Pension systems risks o The Italian pension system and the recent reforms 8. LOCAL TAXES AND EXPENDITURES o Rationale for decentralization o Financing local authorities o Transfers to local authorities in Italy o Redistribution and fiscal federalism 9. THE BUDGETARY PROCESS AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE PUBLIC FINANCE o The budget law o The budgetary process in Italy o The Internal Stability Pact

Financial statements: form, principles, standards, notes. Cash flow statement. Introduction to the analysis of financial statements.

Aim of the course is to provide students the skills necessary to elaborate the following subjects: - consolidation of methodological expertise acquired during the course of Business Administration (considered a prerequisite) for the detection of accounting processes; - preparation of financial statements in accordance with economic logic; - development of good evaluation capacity of balance sheet items in accordance with economic principles, the legal framework and tax laws; - determining taxable income and taxes; - preparation of cash flow statement; - analysis of the economic and financial situation through the interpretation of financial ratios.

Aim of the course is to provide students the skills necessary to elaborate the following subjects: - consolidation of methodological expertise acquired during the course of Business Administration (considered a prerequisite) for the detection of accounting processes; - preparation of financial statements in accordance with economic logic; - development of good evaluation capacity of balance sheet items in accordance with economic principles, the legal framework and tax laws; - determining taxable income and taxes; - preparation of cash flow statement; - analysis of the economic and financial situation through the interpretation of financial ratios

1. Constitutionalism: ancient and modern. 2. The birth of the Nation State in the Modern Age. The constituent elements of the State: territory, population, sovereignty. The constitutional Revolutions of the XVIII Century. 3. The evolution of the forms of the State. 4. Fundamental rights: legal features and transformations in western constitutionalism. 5. The legal order: norms and sources of law. The hierarchical system of the sources of law. 6. Criteria for the solution of antinomies. 7. The Constitution as superior paramount law in the western Constitutionalism. The rigidity of the Constitution. 8. The Constitutional review of the legislation.. B) Representative democracy and Parliamentary form of government 9. Patterns of democracy: direct and representative democracy. 10. Political representation and electoral systems. 11. The Forms of Government in comparative perspectives: parliamentary government. 12. The Forms of Government in comparative perspectives: Presidential and semi-Presidential Government. C) European Union 13. The European Constitutions in the Post-Second World War and the openness to International law. Principles and sources of the international law and international organizations. 14. Origins and developments of the European Communities and the European Union. 15. The Treaties of the European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of EU. 16. The Institutional frame of the European Union. 17. The sources of law of the European Union and their relevance in the domestic legal orders. 18. The principle of subsidiarity. 19. The European Court of Justice. 20. The European Convention of Human Rights: its relevance in the States legal orders and the protection of human rights by the European Court of Strasbourg. D) Italian Constitution: sources of law and the system of constitutional review of the legislation 21. From the Italian Statute of 1848 to the Constitutional Assembly. Limits and procedures for the amendment of the Constitution (art. 138-139 I.C.). 22. The Parliamentary Law (art. 70-74 I.C.). 23. The Acts of the Executive Branch with force of law (art.76-77 I.C.). 24. The reservation to the Statutory Law. The Regulations of the Executive Branch. 25. The system of separation of competences between the sources of law: the Regional Law (art. 117 I.C.). 26. The popular Referendum on Legislative Acts (art. 75 I.C.). 27. The Italian Constitutional Court: the constitutional review of the legislation (art. 134-137 I.C.). 28. The Italian Constitutional Court: other functions. E) Italian form of government 29. The structure of the Parliament (art. 55-69, 82 I.C.). 30. The status of the members of the Parliament (art. 68 I.C.). 31. The Parliamentary Confidence and the formation of the Cabinet (art. 92-94 I.C.). 32. The President of the Republic (art. 83-91 I.C.). 33. Structure of the Executive Branch and the Public Administration. (art. 95-100 I.C.). 34. Regional Form of Government (art. 121-126 I.C.). Local Government (art. 114-133 I.C.). 35. Constitutional Principles of the State Budget (art. 81 I.C.). 36. Politics and Jurisdiction: the independence of the judicial branch (art. 101-110 I.C.).

Quick refresh of the prerequisites. The set of the real numbers, the real line, intervals. Introduction to the topology of the real line. Ordered sets on the real line, g.l.b., l.u.b., maximum and minimum of a set. Real functions of one real variable: definition, elementary functions, operations among functions, injective, surjective and bijective functions, invertibility, monotonicity, concavity and convexity, extrema of a function. Limits and continuity: definitions and basic theorems. Differential calculus in one variable. Definitions: difference quotient, derivative, tangent line. Derivatives of elementary functions, differentiation rules. Higher-order derivatives. Some theorems of differential calculus. Applications of differential calculus to computation of limits, monotonicity and convexity study, and determination of extrema. Introduction to the antiderivatives an their applications: definition, elementary integrals, linearity of integration, integration by parts. Application to the computation of definite integrals.

Quick refresh of the prerequisites. The set of the real numbers, the real line, intervals. Introduction to the topology of the real line. Ordered sets on the real line, g.l.b., l.u.b., maximum and minimum of a set. Real functions of one real variable: definition, elementary functions, operations among functions, injective, surjective and bijective functions, invertibility, monotonicity, concavity and convexity, extrema of a function. Limits and continuity: definitions and basic theorems. Differential calculus in one variable. Definitions: difference quotient, derivative, tangent line. Derivatives of elementary functions, differentiation rules. Higher-order derivatives. Some theorems of differential calculus. Applications of differential calculus to computation of limits, monotonicity and convexity study, and determination of extrema. Introduction to the antiderivatives an their applications: definition, elementary integrals, linearity of integration, integration by parts. Application to the computation of definite integrals.

Quick refresh of the prerequisites. The set of the real numbers, the real line, intervals. Introduction to the topology of the real line. Ordered sets on the real line, g.l.b., l.u.b., maximum and minimum of a set. Real functions of one real variable: definition, elementary functions, operations among functions, injective, surjective and bijective functions, invertibility, monotonicity, concavity and convexity, extrema of a function. Limits and continuity: definitions and basic theorems. Differential calculus in one variable. Definitions: difference quotient, derivative, tangent line. Derivatives of elementary functions, differentiation rules. Higher-order derivatives. Some theorems of differential calculus. Applications of differential calculus to computation of limits, monotonicity and convexity study, and determination of extrema. Introduction to the antiderivatives and their applications: definition, elementary integrals, linearity of integration, integration by parts. Application to the computation of definite integrals.