All students will be registered for both of the following courses. Neither the pass/fail option, nor auditing is permitted.

ECON 307A
Understanding Financial Bubbles and Crises
(SS) 1.0 Credit, Instructor: Caccavale

Pre-requisite: ECON 101

This course examines the similarities/differences of historical financial crises from “Tulipmania” in 1636 through the Credit Crisis of 2008. The class explores the regulatory changes that are enacted post-crisis and discusses factors we would employ to prevent future economic bubbles/crises. We will examine the impact of speculation, market fear/greed, fraud and corruption, financial instruments and regulations of past bubbles to attempt to predict and avoid future financial bubbles and crises. The course will look at specific financial crises in various markets ranging from industries (The Railway Mania of 1854) to stocks (The 1929 Stock Market Crash) to currencies (The European Monetary Collapse of 1992) to debt/asset (The Credit and Housing Crisis of 2008) and to exogenous financial market shocks (Covid-19). Class includes guest speakers from the London financial community to provide an inside view and feel of the markets during those periods as well as current topics in the financial arena.

ECON 368A / PSY 368A
Behavioral Finance: A Taxonomy of Money Mistakes
(SS) 1.0 Credit, Instructor: Rasiel

Pre-requisites: ECON 101.  (Completion of ECON 201 and any of MATH 202, 212, 216, 218, or 222 would be beneficial, but is not required)

The European financial center, London, is an ideal location to learn more about how psychological biases affect financial market prices, both at the individual and aggregate level.  This course mixes insights from the fields of psychology and decision-making to characterize some prevalent features of irrational behavior in financial markets. Throughout the course, visiting lectures from London-based finance executives will provide real-world color on the topics that we discuss in class. Further insights will be gained via site visits to financial firms’ offices, where we will learn about London’s role as the multi-cultural European financial center. Each class will begin with a discussion of a current news item or story from one of the leading British newspapers that morning, in which a particular behavioral bias or probability error is explicitly identified. 

On Internships

Applicants should not anticipate having the opportunity to interview for a finance summer internship in London as a direct result of participating in this summer program. The London offices of investment banks hire interns almost exclusively from the U.K. and European schools, and do not typically interview students from U.S. schools or consider them for internships based in London. Nonetheless, the exposure to international financial firms, and networking opportunities with Duke alumni may prove valuable for students who wish to apply for U.S. or Asian-based financial market internships in a subsequent summer.

There are typically 6-8 required excursions, mostly to financial firms in London, to meet with alumni in the financial markets who offer panel discussions to talk about current financial market issues and activities. Other required excursions have included a visit to the Bank of England. The program also includes optional tours in London and elsewhere in England that are location-specific rather than academically related. Tours in recent years have included: a private tour to the Houses of Parliament; a day-long visit to Oxford; a London play; a trip to the Tate Modern Art Gallery; guided walking tours in various parts of London. Excursions and activities for summer 2022 are still being worked on.

You will be housed in a UCL residence hall in central London, near the British Museum and convenient to the underground and Theatre District. There are kitchen facilities in the residence hall and many inexpensive restaurants nearby.

Attendance is required at all classes, excursions, and group events. Given the intense nature of this program, late arrival and/or early departure is not permitted.

• Arrival: July 1, 2023
• Departure: August 12, 2023

Flights

You will make your own travel arrangements to and from the program site. You are expected to arrive on the arrival date cited above, which usually means departing the U.S. one day prior. Once you have a flight itinerary, please log in to MyExperiential to update your travel registry.

Housing Before/After

You will need to make your own housing arrangements if you will be arriving before the program start date or leaving later than the program end date.