Country Risk Analysis

About

The Asian Crisis in 1997-1998, Argentina's default in 2001 and the recent economic downturns in Brazil, Russia and South Africa underline the relevance of country risk analysis for companies, policymakers and NGOs. This course teaches you the skills to study country risks in Emerging Markets from an economic perspective. What kind of research framework do banks use to assess country risk, and which concepts are pivotal in this regard? What are important economic risk drivers, and what are their critical values? How can these economic risk drivers affect country risk? To answer these questions, you complete an assignment in which you collect open source data required for a thorough economic risk analysis of a particular country. In the next assignment, you write the economic risk section of a country risk report about the same country. To prepare for this section, you learn how to use the ‘causal chain canvas’ tool to visualize the direct and indirect effects of a change in economic risk drivers. In the final assignment, you compare the economic risks of your home country with the home countries of your teammates. You will present your findings in class. Interactive lectures and roundtable discussions help you prepare for your assignments.

Target group

Strong motivation and good command of English are essential to get a pass for the course;
Basic knowledge of economic ideas and/or trends is recommended;
Aimed at Bachelor/ Master/ PhD students in Economics/ Business/ Political Sciences/ International Relations/ Geography/ History. If in doubt, please contact Leonhardt for personal course selection advice.

Course aim

Designing an analytical framework to study the country risks in Emerging Markets;
Comparing the macro-economic risks and the underlying drivers of different countries;
Assessing the impact of changes in other economies and the world economy on one particular country;
Finding, selecting and interpreting open-source data;
Boosting your employability by acquiring valuable skills required for positions in business, government and academia.

Fee info