| CODE | INS5004 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Geopolitical and Environmental Risk | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Insurance and Risk Management | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit provides a comprehensive insight into the myriad of geopolitical and environmental risks faced by modern-day businesses and public sector entities alike. The first part of the unit will consider today's connected, globalised business world as a function of various social, political and macroeconomic risks, both domestically and across the world. The unit will also look at the various ways that such risks have been quantified and measured by businesses and international institutions. All concepts shall be illustrated using real-world examples as well as empirical evidence on the impact of these risks on business operations. The second part of the unit will consider the various environmental risks that have emerged in recent years and which are expected to grow significantly over time. Volatility in weather and extreme events caused by climate change, coupled with threats to natural resource stocks and new legislation targeting more stringent waste and air quality targets have had a significant impact on business planning, strategy and risk management across various sectors. This unit will consider each of these issues in turn, leaning heavily on the literature on economic valuation of the environment, while also considering various mitigation and risk transfer techniques that have been proposed in order to deal with these risks, both on a micro and macro level, using real-world case studies to illustrate the points raised. Study-unit Aims: i) To provide a detailed look at the various geopolitical risks that businesses face in today's globalised world; ii) To develop a nuanced look at the numerous environmental risks that have been identified as critical for businesses and public sector enterprises across several sectors. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: i) Describe the various social, political and macroeconomic risks that must be taken into account by any financial services provider and business; ii) Discuss and explain the extent to which such geopolitical risks can have a significant impact on a business' operations, and the ways in which such risks can be quantified; iii) Critically assess the interaction between various environmental issues like climate change and oceanic pollution and business/economic decision making, and identify the key emerging risks therein; iv) Develop and describe practical, coherent actions or policies that can be undertaken in order to deal with each environmental risk, and the pros and cons of each initiative. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: i) Utilise a range of quantitative and qualitative skills in order to analyse geopolitical and environmental risk factors, including thematic analysis and statistical tests; ii) Read, interpret and understand the latest developments in geopolitical risk and environmental risk management published in leading academic journals within the field, and explain these ideas in a coherent manner both in wirtten and in oral form; iii) Apply the concepts learned to undertake own independent research, as well as to supplement understanding of risk management in his/her future careers. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Caldara, D. and Iacoviello, M. (2018). Measuring Geopolitical Risk. London School of Economics and Political Science. - Pritchard, P. (2014). Environmental risk management. Routledge. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Rebecca Dalli Gonzi Reuben Fenech Jonathan Spiteri (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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