ECON 29902 - Alternative Financial Institutions

Course Credit: 1
Maximum Credit: 0

ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS This course will explore the economics of four types of alternative financial institutions: Microfinance, Islamic Finance, Amish Insurance and Funerary/Rotating Savings Associations. These institutions purport to be different than conventional finance. We will explore how risk is shared in these institutions and how they tackle the fundamental problems of moral hazard and adverse selection. We will also examine the public good, gender, and social capital aspects of these different types of institutions. Students are expected to write literature reviews for one aspect of each of these types of institutions and these will be shared publicly on a Wiki with Creative Commons rights. Prerequisite(s): ECON-10100 [W]