Stable and Sustainable Financial Markets

This syllabus was originally taught at Leuphana University Luneburg.
Instructor: Christian Fahrbach

Course Summary

How can monetary and fiscal policy stabilize bear markets and which additional measures should be taken to push sustainable finance?

The project seminar “Stable and Sustainable Financial Markets” is about the question, how can central bank and state (government) stabilize bear markets and which additional measures are suitable to push sustainable finance?

First, students get an overview of sustainable finance and then choose a specific aspect related to that topic, e.g. ethical banking or sustainability rating. Students formulate in working groups a joint research question and choose a suitable method, e.g. analysis of actors or interviews with stakeholders. Then, students are challenged to create and argue a connection between sustainable finance and financial market stability. Finally, the groups give a joint presentation and create a joint project report at the end of the semester.

The didactic method used in the seminar is “exploratory learning”. The lecture is given in German according to the textbook “Gruenes Geld 2020” from Deml and Blisse (2017).

Assignments and Assessment

The exam consists of two different formats: a group presentation and a group project report. Both exam formats are assessed on the one hand individually. On the other hand, the group is assessed as a whole by the lecturer.

Course Overview

The course is organized as follows: After an introduction in the specific feature of the project seminar, there is an introduction to classical finance, explaining terms and relationships in detail. Students should know the classical model, recognizing its limits and adopting a holistic perspective. Then an equilibrium condition and its importance for financial market stability is explained. Furthermore, two possible solutions are shown to stabilize bear markets, in which the state and central bank play quite different roles. The two solutions are discussed in the seminar, whether they are suitable to transform financial markets in favor of sustainable finance.

The lectures take place as frontal lecturing with a powerpoint slides template and a detailed seminar script, supported by interactive elements.