Back to selection
28807-01 - Lecture: Money, Banking and Payment Systems (6 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Every fall sem. |
| Lecturers |
Lukas Altermatt (lukas.altermatt@unibas.ch)
Aleksander Berentsen (aleksander.berentsen@unibas.ch, Assessor) Eva Wettstein (eva.wettstein@unibas.ch) |
| Content | Economists have long been fascinated by the roles and interactions of money, banking and payment systems in market economies. In order to understand why money is essential for trading and why financial intermediation can be welfare improving, one needs to examine trade and money from first principles. If there is no clear idea of why money and banking are essential, then there is no real understanding of the consequences or welfare effects of monetary policy experiments, such as Quantitative Easing (QE) or negative interest rates (NIR), or the need for banking regulation. The lecture is composed of a theoretical and an applied part. For the theoretical part, the lecture is based on the book by Champ B., Freeman S., and J. Haslag, 'Modeling Monetary Economies', Cambridge University Press. The book is composed of three parts. In Part I of the book, Champ et al. construct environments in which money serves as a medium of exchange and a store of value. Various issues such as inflation, barter, commodity money and price surprises are studied within this framework. In Part II, the authors extend the model of the first section to see how financial intermediation affects the trading environment and the role of money in the economy. In this part of the book, Champ et al. study the conflict between money and capital as stores of value, the liquidity structure of capital, clearing house functions of central banks and bank runs. Finally, in Part III, they introduce fiscal policy to study how deficits, the national debt, open market operations and seigniorage affect the functioning of the economy. In the applied part of the lecture, we will teach students the basics of programming in Python. At the end of the lecture, students will be able to program the simple model economies from the textbook by Champ et al., solve these models, and perform comparative statics numerically. |
| Bibliography | The lecture will be based on Champ B., Freeman S., and J. Haslag, 'Modeling Monetary Economies', Cambridge University Press., individual papers, and online content for programming in Python. |
| Comments | Some lectures may take place online via Zoom. You will be informed in good time. |
| Weblink | Weblink |
| Admission requirements | Following lectures should have been taken previously: Introduction to Financial Markets (23516) Intermediate Microeconomics (10134) Intermediate Macroeconomics (10184) |
| Course application | Registration: Please enroll in the Online Services (services.unibas.ch); Eucor-Students and mobility students of other Swiss Universities or the FHNW first have to register at the University of Basel BEFORE the start of the course and receive their login data by post (e-mail address of the University of Basel). Processing time up to a week! Detailed information can be found here: https://www.unibas.ch/de/Studium/Mobilitaet.html After successful registration you can enroll for the course in the Online Services (services.unibas.ch). Applies to everyone: Enrolment = Registration for the course and the exam! |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 16.09.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 23.09.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 30.09.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 07.10.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 14.10.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 21.10.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 28.10.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 04.11.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 11.11.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 18.11.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 25.11.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 02.12.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 09.12.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Tuesday 16.12.2025 | 16.30-20.00 | Kollegienhaus, Hörsaal 114 |
| Modules |
Modul: Aufbau Economics (Bachelor's Studies: Business and Economics) Modul: Wahlbereich in Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Bachelor's degree subject: Business and Economics) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Final exam and programming assignments. The exam/assessment can be written or oral. You will be informed in good time before the start of the course. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration, dereg: cancel course registration |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | 1-6 0,1 |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Business and Economics , studiendekanat-wwz@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Faculty of Business and Economics |