Financial Theory
Yale economist John Geanakoplos treats finance not as separate from the rest of the economy but as an extension of general economic equilibrium, building the theory up from arbitrage, present value, and optimal consumption toward asset pricing, risk, and efficient markets. Lectures work through the mathematics behind pricing forwards, futures, and options, the Modigliani-Miller theorem, and the capital asset pricing model, then turn to more advanced territory including incomplete markets, adverse selection, and the mortgage crisis. Several sessions dissect the reasoning hedge funds actually use when they evaluate positions and risk. Recorded at Yale in Fall 2009 as part of Open Yale Courses, the class ran twice weekly for 75 minutes and the full video lectures, transcripts, and syllabus are freely available online. No certificate is offered, but the complete lecture set gives a rigorous, self-contained treatment of financial theory suitable for anyone with basic calculus and economics background.