FYS 246: Wall Street
Professor Aschauer
Economics Department
270 Pettingill Hall
Bates College
This seminar takes a critical look at the pulsating heart of American capitalism: Wall Street. The topics
covered in the seminar include:
- the American financial system
- definitions of financial assets
- theories of financial asset valuation
- the history of Wall Street
- the effects of monetary and fiscal policy on the financial markets
- the influence of the financial markets on the economy.
Required reading material
The following are required readings for the seminar:
- Gordon, John Steele, The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power 1653-2000, New
York: Scribner Press (1999)
- Little, Jeffrey B. and Lucien Rhodes, Understanding Wall Street, New York: McGraw-Hill Press/Liberty
Hall (1991)
- Malkiel, Burton G., A Random Walk Down Wall Street, New York: W.W. Norton Press (1999)
- The Wall Street Journal.
In addition, a number of articles will be assigned during the course of the term.
Grading
The seminar grade will be a weighted average of
- regular (typically weekly) writing assignments in the range of 2-3 (12 point typewritten) pages
- class participation and presentations
- term project in the range of 12-15 (12 point typewritten) pages. The form of this project will be the
choice of the student. One possibility is a research paper on a theoretical or empirical issue (e.g., Is
the stock market overvalued?) or on a particular individual or group of individuals (e.g., J.P.
Morgan or the "robber barons"). Another possibility is an extensive review of a recent book on
Wall Street (e.g., Michael Lewis's Liar's Poker, Roger Lowenstein's When Genius Failed: The Rise
and Fall of Long Term Capital Management, Daniel Gross's Bull Run: Wall Street, The Democrats,
and the New Politics of Personal Finance, or Howard Kurtz's The Fortune Tellers.)
Some Useful Links: