AØKK08417U Seminar: Topics in Private Capital (F)

Volume 2020/2021
Education

MSc programme in Economics

The course is a part of the financial line, signified by (F)

 

The seminar is primarily for students at the MSc of Economics.

Content

With the expansion of the market for private capital such as private equity in recent decades, active and concentrated ownership of private companies has been argued to provide value, even under ownership and governance models such as industrial foundations and family offices, as an alternative to the traditional publicly listed firm with dispersed ownership.

The seminar seeks to explore topics within this field such a long- vs. short termism, shareholder vs. stakeholder perspectives and the emergence of more formalized stakeholder perspectives such as ESG and sustainable finance. What are some of the practical and public policy implications of such perspectives and what may the effects be on efficiency and economic growth?. Are these issues new or re-iterations of long-standing dilemmas and preferences? What are some of the implications for capital allocation from an ownership perspective? What are the implications of increased regulation and may such regulation be costly? Is long-term ownership to be preferred to short-term ownership?

Students will be free to choose topics of interest for discussion and analysis, facilitated and guided by the instructor.

Learning Outcome

After completing the seminar the student is expected to be able to fulfill the learning outcome specified in the Master curriculum and to be able to:

- identify key issues, structure and present arguments and complete a timely analysis of an issue using appropriate tools and methodologies while providing practical recommendations for either public policy or business purposes within the parameters set by the formal requirement for seminars.

- Students are expected to work freely and independently towards analyzing the issues related to their papers with a practical application and recommendation for action in mind. Identifying and applying appropriate litterature and other sources are seen as being an integral part of the learning outcome, as is the ability to effectively communicate such findings orally as well as in writen form.

Topics in corporate finance, public policy, ownership, corporate governance and management are expected to be covered in the seminar, depending on the preferences and ideas developed and explored in collaboration between the students and the instructor. Although there are no specific recommendations for litterature, the following suggested readings might be helpful:

  • Nordic Corporate Governance, Several Authors, Stockholm School of Economics Institute for Research, 2016
  • Corporate Governance – Mechanisms and Systems, Steen Thomsen & Martin Conyon, McGraw-Hill International/DJØF Publishing, 2012
  • Private Equity – Transactions, Contracts and Regulation, Thomas Krüger Andersen, DJØF Publishing, 2015 (or later)
  • Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Peter F. Drucker, Elsevier, 2004 (or later)
  • The Nordic Corporate Governance Model, Per Lekvall (ed.), SNS Forlag, 2014
  • https:/​/​www.bain.com/​insights/​topics/​global-private-equity-report/​
  • http:/​/​www.francodebenedetti.it/​
  • http:/​/​www.francodebenedetti.it/​wp-content/​uploads/​Friedman-The-Social-Responsibility-of-Business-is-to-Increase-its-Profits.pdf
  • https:/​/​ec.europa.eu/​info/​business-economy-euro/​banking-and-finance/​sustainable-finance/​what-sustainable-finance_en
BSc in Economics or similar
Although, there are are no formal recommended academic qualifications other than the requirements in the study program, it is highly recommended that students have some grounding in finance and related topics such as governance and management at the B.Sc or M.Sc. level. Among the B.Sc. courses; “Corporate Finance & Incentives”, “Strategic Management” and “Business Economics” would be particulary useful.
At the seminar the student is trained independently to
- identify and clarify a problem,
- seek and select relevant literatur,
- write a academic paper,
- present and discuss own paper with the other students at the seminar.

Mandatory activities in the seminar:
- Kick-off meeting
- Finding literatur and defining the project
- Writing process of the seminar paper
- Presentation of own project and paper
- Giving constructive feedback to another student´s paper
- Actively participating in discussions at the presentations and other meetings.

The aim of the presentations is, that you use the presentation as an opportunity to practice oral skills and to receive feedback at the paper. The presentations are not a part of the exam and will not be assessed.

The seminar project paper must be uploaded in Absalon before the presentations, as the opponents and the other seminar participants have to read and comment on the paper. It is important that you upload a paper that is so finalized as possible due to the fact that the value of feedback and comments at the presentation is strongly associated with the skill level of the seminar paper.
The teacher defines what materials may be used for the presentations.

After the presentations, you can with a few corrections improve the seminar paper by including the feedback and comments emerged during the presentations. It is NOT intended that you rewrite or begin the writing of the seminar paper after the presentation has taken place.

Pandemic:
In case of a pandemic like Corona the teaching in this course may be changed to be taught either fully or partly online. For further information, see the course room on Absalon.
Schedule and process of the seminar:

Spring 2021:

Kick-off meeting: February 11, at 15:15-17:00
Extra day of introducing teaching: February 18, at 15:15-17:00
Workshops/ Presentations meetings: May 6, 13, 20, at 15:15-17:00


General information:
It is strongly recommended that you think about and search for a topic before the semester begins, as there is only a few weeks from the kick-off meeting to the submission of the project description/agreement paper.

There is no weekly teaching/lecturing and the student cannot expect guidance from the teacher. If the teacher gives a few introduction lectures or gives the opportunity for guidance, this as well as other expectations are clarified at the kickoff meeting.

All information regarding the seminar is communicated through Absalon including venue. So it is very important that you by yourself logon to Absalon and read the information already when you are registered at the seminar.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Project work
  • 186
  • Seminar
  • 20
  • Total
  • 206
Oral
Individual
Collective
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)

Informal oral feedback will be provided on a continuos basis during class discussions – individually and collectively, prior to classes, during class breaks and following classes.

Students may also email the instructor for feedback on their papers within reason. Peer feedback will be an important component, given the seminar form.

Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination
A seminar paper in English that meets the formal requirements for written papers stated in the curriculum of the Master programme and at KUNet for seminars.
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Exam registration requirements

Attendance in all  activities at the seminar as stated in the formal requrements in the Master curriculum and at the KUnet for  Seminars (UK)  and Seminars (DK) is required to participate in the exam.

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Aid
All aids allowed

for the project paper.

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Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
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Exam period

Exam information:

Spring 2021:

Deadline for submitting the final seminar paper: June 1, 2021 before 10 AM

General information:

The seminar paper must be uploaded to the Digital Exam portal. More information will be available from the middle of the semester.

Information about examination, rules, aids etc. is available at Master (UK) and Master (DK).

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Re-exam

Reexam information:

The reexam is a written seminar paper as stated in the Curriculum.

 

Deadline and more information is available at Seminars(UK) and Seminars(DK).

 

Information about reexam etc is available at Master(UK) and Master(DK).

Criteria for exam assesment

Students are assessed on the extent to which they master the learning outcome for the seminar and can make use of the knowledge, skills and competencies listed in the learning outcomes in the Curriculum of the Master programme.

 

To receive the top grade, the student must with no or only a few minor weaknesses be able to demonstrate an excellent performance displaying a high level of command of all aspects of the relevant material.