Introducing the FUS Faculty: Luca Colombo

Adjunct Professor, Economics

Ph.D. University of Bielefeld, Germany
M.A. University of Pennsylvania, USA
Dottore in Economia, Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy

Head of Department of Economics and Finance at the Università Cattolica, Milan, Italy

Office: Kaletsch Campus, Faculty Office 9
Phone: +41 91 985 22 64
Email: lcolombo@fus.edu

Professor of Economics at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy, Dr. Colombo has an extensive publication record and is the recipient of several awards and research grants. His research interests include microeconomic theory, innovation, industrial organization, banking and finance.

2023-2024 Courses

ECN 320	Game Theory, Information, and Contracts	FALL 2023
The course investigates in a simple but rigorous way some of the fundamental issues of modern microeconomics, exploring the main concepts of game theory, as well as the basic elements of the economics of information, and of contract theory. A solid background on these topics is essential to the investigation of strategic decision making, the assessment of the relevance of asymmetric and/or incomplete information in decision processes, and the design of contracts. These, in turn, are among the most important issues that firms and individuals commonly need to face in all situations in which the consequences of individual decisions are likely to depend on the strategic interactions among agents' actions, and on the signaling value of information. Proceeding from intuition to formal analysis, the course investigates the methodological approach of game theory (allowing for a systematic analysis of strategic interaction) and the main concepts of the economics of information (allowing to assess the effects of asymmetric or incomplete information on agents' decisions). Further, it combines both game theory and economics of information to provide an introduction to the essential elements of contract theory.
ECN 365	Investment Analysis I	FALL 2023
This course focuses on the basic concepts of value and risk, and explores the principles that guide strategic investment decisions. Major emphasis is placed on the notion of net present value, the evaluation and pricing of bonds and stocks, and the definition and measurement of risk. The concepts of portfolio risk and expected return, as well as the role of portfolio diversification are carefully investigated. Students are then introduced to market efficiency, portfolio theory and the relationship between risk and return in the context of alternative theories, mainly the capital asset pricing model and the arbitrage pricing theory. (Recommended: ECN 225, ECN 256; Strongly Recommended: MAT 200)
ECN 366	Investment Analysis II (Corporate Finance)	SPRING 2024
This course focuses on the financing decisions of firms. After an introduction to the questions related to the definition of debt policy and the capital structure of the firm, the course investigates the problems related to the issue of securities and dividend policy, as well as the impact of corporate taxes and the costs associated to bankruptcy, financial distress and conflicts of interest. The second part of the course studies the fundamentals of option pricing theory and the valuation of options - with applications to warrants and convertible bonds - and provides an introduction to the use of derivatives for hedging financial risk.
ECN 387	Introduction to Econometrics	SPRING 2024
The course introduces the basic principles of econometrics as a set of tools and techniques to quantitatively investigate a variety of economic and financial issues. The application of econometric methods allows studying the relationships between different economic and financial variables, hence providing a natural way to test and confront alternative theories and conjectures, as well as to forecast and simulate the effects of different economic and financial policies. The course approach is mainly focused on applications. A discussion of the main theoretical issues and a systematic analysis of econometric tools are prerequisites for the investigation of a number of economic and financial applications.

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Luca Colombo

Adjunct Professor, Economics

2023-2024 Courses