BEPP5050 - Risk Management (Course Syllabus)
The last financial crisis and subsequent recession provide ample evidence that failure to properly manage risk can result in disaster. Individuals and firms confront risk in nearly all decisions they make. People face uncertainty in their choice of careers, spending and saving decisions, family choices, and many other facets of life. Similarly, the value that firms create by designing and marketing good products is at risk from a variety of sources. The bankruptcy of a key supplier, sharp rise in cost of financing, destruction of an important asset, impact of global warming, or a liability suit can quickly squander the value created by firms. In extreme cases, risky outcomes can bankrupt a firm, as has happened recently to manufacturers of automobile parts and a variety of financial service firms. The events since the Global Financial Crisis also offer stark reminders that risk can impose significant costs on individuals, firms, governments, and societ6y as a whole. This course explores how individuals and firms assess and evaluate risk, examines the tools available to successfully manage risk, and discusses real-world phenomena that limit the desired amount of risk-sharing. Our focus is primarily on explaining the products and institutions that will serve you better when making decisisions in your future careers and lives.
BEPP5640 - Climate and Financial Markets (Course Syllabus)
Climate change might be the defining challenge of our times, with a wide range of effects on financial markets and the broader economy. At the same time, financial markets play an important role in financing the transition to a net-zero economy, and incentivizing firms and investors to adapt their strategies. In this course, we examine how climate risks—both physical and regulatory—affect firms, financial markets (including equity, corporate debt, green bonds, municipal bonds, insurance, and carbon markets), and markets for energy, real estate and mortgages. We also examine the role that firms’ disclosures and third-party information sources play. Because financial markets are shaped by the information that is available to market participants, we investigate the impact of ESG reporting and rating agencies, including the costs and benefits of regulating ESG reporting and the impact of greenwashing. In the second part of the course, we study how governments and private investors finance investments in climate technologies. Here, we discuss various financial instruments that have been developed to address climate-change concerns. Given the enormous importance of electrification as a pathway towards a low-carbon future, there is special emphasis on renewable energy finance and economics. We also discuss the latest evidence of how climate risk has shaped decisions inside organizations, such as spin-offs, hedging, and the structure of executive-compensation contracts.
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania
Dinan Hall (formerly Vance Hall)
3733 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6301
Phone: (215) 898-3015
Fax: (215) 898-7635