The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the study of stochastic processes in discrete and continuous time. Students will have learned the essentials of the subject and should be able to apply the acquired theoretical tools to problems in econometrics, economics, finance, and other fields.

Deterministic dynamic systems are usually not well suited for modelling real world dynamics in economics, finance and business. Allowing for random components in dynamic systems leads to stochastic dynamic modelling, which is based on stochastic processes. This course covers models of stochastic processes in discrete and continuous time. This includes Markov chains, Poisson processes and Brownian motion. We introduce various tools that are very useful for deriving and understanding the asymptotic properties of modern econometric techniques. They include the functional central limit theorem and stochastic integrals. Finally, we discuss stochastic differential equations and their applications in finance and related fields, e.g. for pricing financial derivatives.

Mikosch, T., (1998), Elementary stochastic calculus, World scientific Publishing, Singapore.
Reader.

• Only Master students can take Econometrics Master courses.
• Students require a solid background in mathematical statistics and probability theory on the level of the BSc Econometrics programme.
• An advanced level of English.