Springer Texts in Business and Economics – serie

In the curricula of highly ranked MBA programs, two areas of discussion are conspicuously absent: International Trade, and Global Macroeconomic Policy. In this post-financial crisis environment, as the US and other advanced economies continue to experience sluggish growth, persistently high unemployment, and political agitation for increasingly protectionist policies, discussions pertaining to trade, currencies, and international capital flows are often fraught with emotion, tension, and hysteria. This book cuts through the emotions and superficial “solutions” and provides the reader with a thorough understanding of the hard-hitting theoretical models that drive the global flow of goods, services, and capital in the real world.  A key feature of this volume is the presentation of the theoretical models, and the discussion of their implications in the context of real-world applications. This text is uniquely designed for current and future business leaders who are, or will be, engaged in the global economy. Armed with an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings driving goods, capital and ideas across national boundaries, readers will learn to anticipate the effects of trade and macroeconomic policy changes, and will have the tools to make sound, informed decisions for themselves and their global organizations.

​Health care is a very important component of the American economy.  The United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) put the 2008 direct health care expenditures at about $2.34 trillion, or about 16.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), or  an average of $7,681 spent for every man, woman, and child in the country.  Health care cost increases have caused very serious problems that threaten to bankrupt the system, providers, employers, and the families that pay the costs that their health insurance plans do not cover.  Additionally, cost increases have reduced access to health care services, adversely affected the quality of care, and resulted in avoidable illnesses, premature deaths, and in health disparities based on race, ethnicity, and income. Consequently, health care reform has continuously been on the public and governmental agendas.  It is out of this environment that several reform plans, including the 1993 Health Security Act, and the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), were launched. This book examines the ideological, social, cultural, economic, and several other factors that dictate the various measures and approaches employed to tackle the perceived problems.  The book has an index, tables, charts and figures, lists of major terms, and review questions for each chapter. This book will appeal to students in Master of Health Administration (MHA), Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Public Administration (MPA), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), health certificate programs, and junior and senior level undergraduate students in political science, public administration, public health, and public policy.  In addition to serving as a core text for health policy and administration classes, the book will serve as a supplementary text for graduate level courses.

This book covers the main topics that students need to learn in a course on Industrial Organization.  It reviews the classic models and important empirical evidence related to the field.  However, it will differ from prior textbooks in two ways.  First, this book incorporates contributions from behavioral economics and neuroeconomics, providing the reader with a richer understanding of consumer preferences and the motivation for many of the business practices we see today.  The book discusses how firms exploit consumers who are prone to making mistakes and who suffer from cognitive dissonance, attention lapses, and bounded rationality, for example and will help explain why firms invest in persuasive advertising, offer 30-day free trials, offer money-back guarantees, and engage in other observed phenomena that cannot be explained by the traditional approaches to industrial organization.     A second difference is that this book achieves a balance between textbooks that emphasize formal modeling and those that emphasize the history of the field, empirical evidence, case studies, and policy analysis. This text puts more emphasis on the micro-foundations (i.e., consumer and producer theory), classic game theoretic models, and recent contributions from behavioral economics that are pertinent to industrial organization.  Each topic will begin with a discussion of relevant theory and models and will also include a discussion of concrete examples, empirical evidence, and evidence from case studies.  This will provide students with a deeper understanding of firm and consumer behavior, of the factors that influence market structure and economic performance, and of policy issues involving imperfectly competitive markets.  The book is intended to be a textbook for graduate students, MBAs and upper-level undergraduates and will use examples, graphical analysis, algebra, and simple calculus to explain important ideas and theories in industrialorganization.

​​E-Commerce Strategy: Text and Cases provides the fundamental literature required for graduate students and practitioners to understand electronic commerce. Each chapter provides clearly designed learning objectives and review questions to highlight the major topics and goals. This book covers many of the new innovations and technologies that have been established for e-commerce site development. Unlike similar books, topics such as e-channel adoption, factors affecting e-commerce adoption, and strategy design are reviewed in greater depth. Additionally, the book examines areas not normally covered like open source, online research, and peer-to-peer systems. E-Commerce Strategy: Text and Cases is divided into two parts. Part 1 examines the evolution of e-commerce, analyzes different sectors such as B2B and m-Commerce, and explores the challenges they face. Case studies of well known companies reinforce the concepts learned to demonstrate both successes and failures in the field. Part 2 deals with developing strategies in e-Commerce and looks at future trends including Web 2.0. Overall, the useful guidelines provided should prove valuable to students and researchers in the field.

​​E-Commerce Strategy: Text and Cases provides the fundamental literature required for graduate students and practitioners to understand electronic commerce. Each chapter provides clearly designed learning objectives and review questions to highlight the major topics and goals. This book covers many of the new innovations and technologies that have been established for e-commerce site development. Unlike similar books, topics such as e-channel adoption, factors affecting e-commerce adoption, and strategy design are reviewed in greater depth. Additionally, the book examines areas not normally covered like open source, online research, and peer-to-peer systems. E-Commerce Strategy: Text and Cases is divided into two parts. Part 1 examines the evolution of e-commerce, analyzes different sectors such as B2B and m-Commerce, and explores the challenges they face. Case studies of well known companies reinforce the concepts learned to demonstrate both successes and failures in the field. Part 2 deals with developing strategies in e-Commerce and looks at future trends including Web 2.0. Overall, the useful guidelines provided should prove valuable to students and researchers in the field.

​Health care is a very important component of the American economy.  The United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) put the 2008 direct health care expenditures at about $2.34 trillion, or about 16.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), or  an average of $7,681 spent for every man, woman, and child in the country.  Health care cost increases have caused very serious problems that threaten to bankrupt the system, providers, employers, and the families that pay the costs that their health insurance plans do not cover.  Additionally, cost increases have reduced access to health care services, adversely affected the quality of care, and resulted in avoidable illnesses, premature deaths, and in health disparities based on race, ethnicity, and income. Consequently, health care reform has continuously been on the public and governmental agendas.  It is out of this environment that several reform plans, including the 1993 Health Security Act, and the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), were launched. This book examines the ideological, social, cultural, economic, and several other factors that dictate the various measures and approaches employed to tackle the perceived problems.  The book has an index, tables, charts and figures, lists of major terms, and review questions for each chapter. This book will appeal to students in Master of Health Administration (MHA), Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Public Administration (MPA), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), health certificate programs, and junior and senior level undergraduate students in political science, public administration, public health, and public policy.  In addition to serving as a core text for health policy and administration classes, the book will serve as a supplementary text for graduate level courses.

In the curricula of highly ranked MBA programs, two areas of discussion are conspicuously absent: International Trade, and Global Macroeconomic Policy. In this post-financial crisis environment, as the US and other advanced economies continue to experience sluggish growth, persistently high unemployment, and political agitation for increasingly protectionist policies, discussions pertaining to trade, currencies, and international capital flows are often fraught with emotion, tension, and hysteria. This book cuts through the emotions and superficial “solutions” and provides the reader with a thorough understanding of the hard-hitting theoretical models that drive the global flow of goods, services, and capital in the real world.  A key feature of this volume is the presentation of the theoretical models, and the discussion of their implications in the context of real-world applications. This text is uniquely designed for current and future business leaders who are, or will be, engaged in the global economy. Armed with an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings driving goods, capital and ideas across national boundaries, readers will learn to anticipate the effects of trade and macroeconomic policy changes, and will have the tools to make sound, informed decisions for themselves and their global organizations.

This book covers the main topics that students need to learn in a course on Industrial Organization.  It reviews the classic models and important empirical evidence related to the field.  However, it will differ from prior textbooks in two ways.  First, this book incorporates contributions from behavioral economics and neuroeconomics, providing the reader with a richer understanding of consumer preferences and the motivation for many of the business practices we see today.  The book discusses how firms exploit consumers who are prone to making mistakes and who suffer from cognitive dissonance, attention lapses, and bounded rationality, for example and will help explain why firms invest in persuasive advertising, offer 30-day free trials, offer money-back guarantees, and engage in other observed phenomena that cannot be explained by the traditional approaches to industrial organization.     A second difference is that this book achieves a balance between textbooks that emphasize formal modeling and those that emphasize the history of the field, empirical evidence, case studies, and policy analysis. This text puts more emphasis on the micro-foundations (i.e., consumer and producer theory), classic game theoretic models, and recent contributions from behavioral economics that are pertinent to industrial organization.  Each topic will begin with a discussion of relevant theory and models and will also include a discussion of concrete examples, empirical evidence, and evidence from case studies.  This will provide students with a deeper understanding of firm and consumer behavior, of the factors that influence market structure and economic performance, and of policy issues involving imperfectly competitive markets.  The book is intended to be a textbook for graduate students, MBAs and upper-level undergraduates and will use examples, graphical analysis, algebra, and simple calculus to explain important ideas and theories in industrialorganization.

Applied Corporate Finance fills a gap in the existing resources available to students and professionals needing an academically rigorous, yet practically orientated, source of knowledge about corporate finance. Written by an expert in investment analysis, this textbook leads readers to truly understand the principles behind corporate finance in a real world context from both a firm and investor perspective. The focus of this text is on traditional theory applied to a holistic business case study, offering readers both a quantitative and qualitative perspective on such topics as capital budgeting, time value of money, corporate risk, and capital structure. Each section in the book corresponds to the order in which a business makes key financial decisions—as opposed to level of difficulty—allowing readers to grasp a comprehensive understanding of the corporate financial life cycle. Directly addressing the area of corporate finance in an applied setting, and featuring numerous case examples and end-of-chapter discussion questions and problems, this textbook will appeal to advanced undergraduates majoring in finance, graduate-level students, as well as professionals in need of a quick refresher on corporate financial policy.​

Today, the most pressing challenges for public economics are of macroeconomic nature: pensions, debt, income distribution, and fiscal sustainability. All these problems are compounded by the phenomenon of demographic transition and aging. This graduate textbook addresses these issues with the help of state-of-the-art macroeconomic tools that are based on a sound microfoundation and rooted in empirical evidence. Different from the standard partial-equilibrium analysis in traditional textbooks on public economics, the concept of general equilibrium helps to account for compensating or amplifying side-effects of economic policy.GAUSS and MATLAB computer code as well as teaching material (slides) are available as downloads from the author's homepage.

This textbook articulates the elements of good craftsmanship in applied microeconomic research and demonstrates its effectiveness with multiple examples from economic literature. Empirical economic research is a combination of several elements: theory, econometric modelling, institutional analysis, data handling, estimation, inference, and interpretation. A large body of work demonstrates how to do many of these things correctly, but to date, there is no central resource available which articulates the essential principles involved  and ties them together.  In showing how these research elements can be best blended to maximize the credibility and impact of the findings that result, this book presents a basic framework for thinking about craftsmanship. This framework lays out the proper context within which the researcher should view the analysis, involving institutional factors, complementary policy instruments, and competing hypotheses that can influence or explain the phenomena being studied. It also emphasizes the interconnectedness of theory, econometric modeling, data, estimation, inference, and interpretation, arguing that good craftsmanship requires strong links between each. Once the framework has been set, the book devotes a chapter to each element of the analysis, providing robust instruction for each case. Assuming a working knowledge of econometrics, this text is aimed at graduate students and early-career academic researchers as well as empirical economists looking to improve their technique.

This book provides readers with essential concepts from financial economics for an integrated study of the financial system and the real economy. It discusses how long-term market prices are determined and affected by population growth, technological progress and non-renewable resources. The meaning of market prices is examined from the perspective of households and from the perspective of firms. The book therefore connects different fields of finance, which usually focus only on either the households’ side or the firms’ side.

The second edition of this textbook comprehensively discusses global supply-chain and operations management, combining value creation networks and interacting processes.

This book draws readers’ attention to the financial aspects of daily life at a corporation by combining a robust mathematical setting and the explanation and derivation of the most popular models of the firm. Intended for third-year undergraduate students of business finance, quantitative finance, and financial mathematics, as well as first-year postgraduate students, it is based on the twin pillars of theory and analytics, which merge in a way that makes it easy for students to understand the exact meaning of the concepts and their representation and applicability in real-world contexts. Examples are given throughout the chapters in order to clarify the most intricate aspects; where needed, there are appendices at the end of chapters, offering additional mathematical insights into specific topics. Due to the recent growth in knowledge demand in the private sector, practitioners can also profit from the book as a bridge-builder between university and industry. Lastly, the book provides useful information for managers who want to deepen their understanding of risk management and come to recognize what may have been lacking in their own systems.

This text is an introduction to the newer features of growth theory that are particularly useful in examining the issues of economic development. Growth theory provides a rich and versatile analytical framework through which fundamental questions about economic development can be examined. Structural transformation, in which developing countries transition from traditional production in largely rural areas to modern production in largely urban areas, is an important causal force in creating early economic growth, and as such, is made central in this approach. Towards this end, the authors augment the Solow model to include endogenous theories of saving, fertility, human capital, institutional arrangements, and policy formation, creating a single two-sector model of structural transformation. Based on applied research and practical experiences in macroeconomic development, the model in this book presents a more rigorous, quantifiable, and explicitly dynamic dual economy approach todevelopment. Common microeconomic foundations and notation are used throughout, with each chapter building on the previous material in a continuous flow. Revised and updated to include more exercises for guided self study, as well as a technical appendix covering required mathematical topics beyond calculus, the second edition is appropriate for both upper undergraduate and graduate students studying development economics and macroeconomics.

This textbook on knowledge management draws on the authors’ more than twenty years of research, teaching and consulting experience. The first edition of this book brought together European, Asian and American perspectives on knowledge-based value creation; this second edition features substantial updates to all chapters, reflecting the implications of the digital transformation on knowledge work and knowledge management. It also addresses three new topics: the impact of knowledge management practices on performance; knowledge management in the public sector; and an introduction to ISO 9001:2015 as an implementation framework.The book is intended not only for academic education but also as an essential guide for managers, consultants, trainers, coaches, and all those engaged in business, public administration or non-profit work who are interested in learning about organizations in a knowledge economy. Given its wealth of case studies, examples, questions, exercises and easy-to-use knowledge management tools, it offers a true compendium for learning about and implementing knowledge management initiatives.

This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of monetary policy, banking supervision and financial stability in the euro area. The author uses his professional experience in central banking to provide a thorough understanding of European economics and to explore how the monetary and financial system functions. The book takes into account the profound changes that resulted from crisis developments in recent years, such as the implementation of quantitative easing or the establishment of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). The author also invites readers to develop their thoughts on alternative policies to shape the monetary and financial system of the future. The textbook is tailor-made for intermediate courses in economics but will also appeal to those preparing a career in central banking or financial regulation.

This textbook presents worked-out exercises on game theory with detailed step-by-step explanations. While most textbooks on game theory focus on theoretical results, this book focuses on providing practical examples in which students can learn to systematically apply theoretical solution concepts to different fields of economics and business. The text initially presents games that are required in most courses at the undergraduate level and gradually advances to more challenging games appropriate for graduate level courses. The first six chapters cover complete-information games, separately analyzing simultaneous-move and sequential-move games, with applications in industrial economics, law, and regulation. Subsequent chapters dedicate special attention to incomplete information games, such as signaling games, cheap talk games, and equilibrium refinements, emphasizing common steps and including graphical illustrations to focus students’ attention on the most relevant payoff comparisons at each point of the analysis.  In addition, exercises are ranked according to their difficulty, with a letter (A-C) next to the exercise number. This allows students to pace their studies and instructors to structure their classes accordingly. By providing detailed worked-out examples, this text gives students at various levels the tools they need to apply the tenets of game theory in many fields of business and economics. The second edition of the text has been revised to provide additional exercises at the introductory and intermediate level, expanding the scope of the book to be appropriate for upper undergraduate students looking to improve their understanding of the subject. The second edition also includes a new chapter devoted entirely to cheap talk games. Revised to appeal to a larger audience of instructors and students, this text is appropriate for introductory-to-intermediate courses in game theory at the upper undergraduate and graduate levels.

This textbook provides students with real-world social marketing case studies from different countries and regions around the world, taking learners from classroom theory to practice. The primary objective is to clearly portray to students distinct, identifiable steps that are essential for successful social marketing campaigns. Core social marketing practices are applied to each case to help students master social marketing principles and apply them to their own real world social marketing activities in order to affect positive social change.This textbook first provides the tools necessary to understand the effective applica- tion of social marketing, and then offers 24 case studies exemplifying effective social marketing efforts from all around the world. Specifically, Part I clearly and concisely explains the principles of social marketing in five chapters:• Upstream vs. downstream social marketing, SWOT, competition• Fundamentals of social marketing, ethics• Formative and Evaluative Research• Theories applied in social marketing• A historical perspective on social marketingPart II features 24 social marketing case studies that demonstrate the application of social marketing principles. All 24 cases follow a consistent structure that includes:• Background • Positioning• SWOT • Research• Objectives • The 4 P’s• Target audience • Evaluation• Barriers and benefits • Discussion• CompetitionThis format allows for students and professors to easily and effectively select individual cases and compare between cases. This textbook also allows instructors to encourage critical thinking by having students compare and contrast not only the cases themselves, but the applications used. In addition, teaching guides with answers to discussion questions, suggestions for activities inside and outside of the classroom and further readings are available to assistprofessors in teaching from this book.

This textbook provides an introduction to modern monetary economics for advanced undergraduates, highlighting the lessons learned from the recent financial crisis. The book presents both the core New Keynesian model and recent advances, taking into account financial frictions, and discusses recent research on an intuitive level based on simple static and two-period models, but also prepares readers for an extension to a truly dynamic analysis. Further, it offers a systematic perspective on monetary policy, covering a wide range of models to help readers gain a better understanding of controversial issues. Part I examines the long-run perspective, addressing classical monetary policy issues such as determination of the price level and interaction between monetary and fiscal policy. Part II introduces the core New Keynesian model, characterizing optimal monetary policy to stabilize short-term shocks. It discusses rules vs. discretion and the challenges arising from control errors, imperfect information and robustness issues. It also analyzes optimal control in the presence of an effective lower bound. Part III focuses on modelling financial frictions. It identifies the transmission mechanisms of monetary policy via banking and introduces models with incomplete markets, principal-agent problems, maturity mismatch and leverage cycles, to show why investors’ and intermediaries’ own stakes play a key role in lending with pro-cyclical features. In addition, it presents a tractable model for handling liquidity management and demonstrates that the need to sell assets in crisis amplifies the volatility of the real economy. Lastly, the book discusses the relation between monetary policy and financial stability, addressing systemic risk and the role of macro-prudential regulation.

This textbook provides an introduction to modern monetary economics for advanced undergraduates, highlighting the lessons learned from the recent financial crisis. The book presents both the core New Keynesian model and recent advances, taking into account financial frictions, and discusses recent research on an intuitive level based on simple static and two-period models, but also prepares readers for an extension to a truly dynamic analysis. Further, it offers a systematic perspective on monetary policy, covering a wide range of models to help readers gain a better understanding of controversial issues. Part I examines the long-run perspective, addressing classical monetary policy issues such as determination of the price level and interaction between monetary and fiscal policy. Part II introduces the core New Keynesian model, characterizing optimal monetary policy to stabilize short-term shocks. It discusses rules vs. discretion and the challenges arising from control errors, imperfect information and robustness issues. It also analyzes optimal control in the presence of an effective lower bound. Part III focuses on modelling financial frictions. It identifies the transmission mechanisms of monetary policy via banking and introduces models with incomplete markets, principal-agent problems, maturity mismatch and leverage cycles, to show why investors’ and intermediaries’ own stakes play a key role in lending with pro-cyclical features. In addition, it presents a tractable model for handling liquidity management and demonstrates that the need to sell assets in crisis amplifies the volatility of the real economy. Lastly, the book discusses the relation between monetary policy and financial stability, addressing systemic risk and the role of macro-prudential regulation.

This open access textbook is the first to provide Business and Economics Ph.D. students with a precise and intuitive introduction to the formal backgrounds of modern financial theory. It explains Brownian motion, random processes, measures, and Lebesgue integrals intuitively, but without sacrificing the necessary mathematical formalism, making them accessible for readers with little or no previous knowledge of the field. It also includes mathematical definitions and the hidden stories behind the terms discussing why the theories are presented in specific ways.

This open access textbook is the first to provide Business and Economics Ph.D. students with a precise and intuitive introduction to the formal backgrounds of modern financial theory. It explains Brownian motion, random processes, measures, and Lebesgue integrals intuitively, but without sacrificing the necessary mathematical formalism, making them accessible for readers with little or no previous knowledge of the field. It also includes mathematical definitions and the hidden stories behind the terms discussing why the theories are presented in specific ways.

This instructor’s manual complements the textbook Money: Theory and Practice which provides an introduction to modern monetary economics for advanced undergraduates, highlighting the lessons learned from the recent financial crisis. The manual provides teachers with exercises and examples that reflect both the core New Keynesian model and recent advances, taking into account financial frictions, and discusses recent research on an intuitive level based on simple static and two-period models.

This textbook provides a one-semester introduction to mathematical economics for first year graduate and senior undergraduate students. Intended to fill the gap between typical liberal arts curriculum and the rigorous mathematical modeling of graduate study in economics, this text provides a concise introduction to the mathematics needed for core microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics courses. Chapters 1 through 5 builds students’ skills in formal proof, axiomatic treatment of linear algebra, and elementary vector differentiation. Chapters 6 and 7 present the basic tools needed for microeconomic analysis. Chapter 8 provides a quick introduction to (or review of) probability theory. Chapter 9 introduces dynamic modeling, applicable in advanced macroeconomics courses. The materials assume prerequisites in undergraduate calculus and linear algebra. Each chapter includes in-text exercises and a solutions manual, making this text ideal for self-study.

This textbook provides a one-semester introduction to mathematical economics for first year graduate and senior undergraduate students. Intended to fill the gap between typical liberal arts curriculum and the rigorous mathematical modeling of graduate study in economics, this text provides a concise introduction to the mathematics needed for core microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics courses. Chapters 1 through 5 builds students’ skills in formal proof, axiomatic treatment of linear algebra, and elementary vector differentiation. Chapters 6 and 7 present the basic tools needed for microeconomic analysis. Chapter 8 provides a quick introduction to (or review of) probability theory. Chapter 9 introduces dynamic modeling, applicable in advanced macroeconomics courses. The materials assume prerequisites in undergraduate calculus and linear algebra. Each chapter includes in-text exercises and a solutions manual, making this text ideal for self-study.

This open access book discusses firm valuation, which is of interest to economists, particularly those working in finance. Firm valuation comes down to the calculation of the discounted cash flow, often only referred to by its abbreviation, DCF. There are, however, different coexistent versions, which seem to compete against each other, such as entity approaches and equity approaches. Acronyms are often used, such as APV (adjusted present value) or WACC (weighted average cost of capital), two concepts classified as entity approaches.This book explains why there are several procedures and whether they lead to the same result. It also examines the economic differences between the methods and indicates the various purposes they serve. Further it describes the limits of the procedures and the situations they are best applied to. The problems this book addresses are relevant to theoreticians and practitioners alike.

This open access book discusses firm valuation, which is of interest to economists, particularly those working in finance. Firm valuation comes down to the calculation of the discounted cash flow, often only referred to by its abbreviation, DCF. There are, however, different coexistent versions, which seem to compete against each other, such as entity approaches and equity approaches. Acronyms are often used, such as APV (adjusted present value) or WACC (weighted average cost of capital), two concepts classified as entity approaches.This book explains why there are several procedures and whether they lead to the same result. It also examines the economic differences between the methods and indicates the various purposes they serve. Further it describes the limits of the procedures and the situations they are best applied to. The problems this book addresses are relevant to theoreticians and practitioners alike.

This self-contained book presents the main techniques of quantitative portfolio management and associated statistical methods in a very didactic and structured way, in a minimum number of pages. The concepts of investment portfolios, self-financing portfolios and absence of arbitrage opportunities are extensively used and enable the translation of all the mathematical concepts in an easily interpretable way.All the results, tested with Python programs, are demonstrated rigorously, often using geometric approaches for optimization problems and intrinsic approaches for statistical methods, leading to unusually short and elegant proofs. The statistical methods concern both parametric and non-parametric estimators and, to estimate the factors of a model, principal component analysis is explained. The presented Python code and web scraping techniques also make it possible to test the presented concepts on market data.This book will be useful for teaching Masters students and for professionals in asset management, and will be of interest to academics who want to explore a field in which they are not specialists. The ideal pre-requisites consist of undergraduate probability and statistics and a familiarity with linear algebra and matrix manipulation. Those who want to run the code will have to install Python on their pc, or alternatively can use Google Colab on the cloud.  Professionals will need to have a quantitative background, being either portfolio managers or risk managers, or potentially quants wanting to double check their understanding of the subject.