Introducing the FUS Faculty: Vera Dianova

Assistant Professor, Economics

Ph.D. in Monetary Economics, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
M.Sc. in European Political Economy, London School of Economics, United Kingdom

Office: Kaletsch Campus, Office 9
Phone: +41 91 986 53 41
Email: vdianova@fus.edu

Professor Dianova obtained a Ph.D. in Monetary Economics from the University of Fribourg in 2018 and an M.Sc. in European Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Since joining FUS in 2020, she has taught a variety of courses including macroeconomics, microeconomics, behavioral economics, international economics and international financial management. Prof. Dianova was awarded the FUS Adjunct Faculty Appreciation Award for the academic years 2021/22 and 2022/23.

Prior to joining FUS, Prof. Dianova conducted theoretical and empirical research at the University of Fribourg investigating the impact of central bank interest rate and balance sheet policies on financial markets and the real economy, with an emphasis on consequent economic growth and labor market dynamics, as well as wealth and income distribution.

Currently, Prof. Dianova’s research is primarily centered at the intersection of labor economics and decision sciences. She explores how automation and artificial intelligence are transforming complex decision-making processes in the workplace, and how these changes are redefining work and professional landscapes.

2024-2025 Courses

BUS 143	Behavioral Science for Decision Making	FALL 2024
Why do individuals sometimes make seemingly irrational decisions? Do consumers always make choices that maximize their utility? By introducing students to some basic but intriguing components of behavioral economics and cognitive psychology, this course seeks to answer these questions and numerous others. Discovering the drivers of irrational decision making is a relatively new field of study that integrates insight from psychology, sociology and neuroscience into traditional analysis of behavior and choice. Findings from behavioral economics have found application across a wide range of disciplines, including marketing and management. The analytical approach in this field breaks from the long-standing mainstream economics tradition of treating subjects as rational agents, effectively making use of available information to make rational decisions with the goal of maximizing personal utility. Analysis in the context of behavioral economics alters this approach by integrating biases, heuristic reasoning and social norms into models of human behavior with the scope of increasing explanatory and predictive power of theory.
ECN 101	Principles of Microeconomics	FALL 2024
This is an entry-level course in economics, covering fundamentals of microeconomics and aimed at students who choose it as an elective or plan to continue their studies in economics. This course helps students develop basic analytical skills in economics and microeconomics. It provides students with a basic understanding of the market system in advanced capitalist economies. It examines the logic of constrained choice with a focus on the economic behavior of individuals and organizations. After a theoretical analysis of the determinants and the interaction of supply and demand under competitive conditions, alternative market structures will be investigated, including monopolistic and oligopolistic forms. The course examines the conditions under which markets allocate resources efficiently and identifies causes of market failure and the appropriate government response. The introduction to the role of government includes its taxing and expenditure activities as well as regulatory policies.
ECN 325	Money, Banking and Financial Markets	FALL 2024
This upper-level course in economics is the first part of a two-semester sequence including ECN 328. This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the monetary dimension of contemporary economies. This includes the nature of the means of settlement, the technology of monetary payments, the banking system and its pro-cyclical, crisis-prone character that requires control and regulation, the response of financial markets to changing policy conditions and perceived risks, and central banks’ operations and goals when setting interest rates. Special attention is devoted to current monetary policy issues with special reference (but not limited) to the practice of the U.S. Fed and the European Central Bank. Recommended prerequisite: BUS 226, ECN 225, ECN 256.
BUS 426W	International Financial Management	SPRING 2025
This course deals with financial problems of multinational business. Topics include sources of funds for foreign operations, capital budgeting and foreign investment decisions, foreign exchange losses, and evaluation of securities of multinational and foreign corporations. Particular emphasis is placed on international capital and financial markets. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.) Recommended: BUS 306.
ECN 101	Principles of Microeconomics	SPRING 2025
This is an entry-level course in economics, covering fundamentals of microeconomics and aimed at students who choose it as an elective or plan to continue their studies in economics. This course helps students develop basic analytical skills in economics and microeconomics. It provides students with a basic understanding of the market system in advanced capitalist economies. It examines the logic of constrained choice with a focus on the economic behavior of individuals and organizations. After a theoretical analysis of the determinants and the interaction of supply and demand under competitive conditions, alternative market structures will be investigated, including monopolistic and oligopolistic forms. The course examines the conditions under which markets allocate resources efficiently and identifies causes of market failure and the appropriate government response. The introduction to the role of government includes its taxing and expenditure activities as well as regulatory policies.
ECN 319	Behavioral Economics	SPRING 2025
"Why do individuals sometimes make seemingly irrational decisions? Do consumers always make choices that maximize their utility? This course capitalizes on students' basic knowledge of economic decision making to question some of the assumptions of mainstream economic models introduced in lower-level economics courses. Discovering the drivers of decision making that appears to deviate from full rationality is a relatively new field of study that integrates insight from psychology into traditional analysis of behavior and choice. Findings from behavioral economics have wide-ranging application in the professional world, spanning economic policy making, corporate management, marketing and finance. The analytical approach in this field breaks from the long-standing mainstream economics tradition of treating subjects as rational agents, effectively making use of available information to make rational decisions with the goal of maximizing personal utility. Analysis in the context of behavioral economics alters this approach by integrating biases, heuristic reasoning and social norms into models of human behavior with the scope of increasing explanatory and predictive power of theory."

Publications:

Dianova, V. G. (forthcoming). Policy rates of interest, in Rochon, L.-P. and S. Rossi (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Central Banking (2nd Edition), Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar.

Dianova, V. G. (forthcoming). Zero lower bound, in Rochon, L.-P. and S. Rossi (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Central Banking (2nd Edition), Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar.

Burke, C.M.; Montross, L.P.; Dianova, V.G. (2024). Beyond the classroom: An analysis of internal and external factors related to students’ love of learning and educational outcomes. Data 9(6), 81. https://doi.org/10.3390/data9060081

Dianova, V. G. & Schultz, M. D. (2023). Discussing ChatGPT’s implications for industry and higher education: the case for transdisciplinarity and digital humanities. Industry and Higher Education 37(5), pp. 593-600. https://doi.org/10.1177/09504222231199989

Beretta, E., Brinberg, D., Dianova, V., Miniero, G., Sponchioni, C. (2023). The post-COVID-19 job market: AI in recruitment and career guidance services. California Management Review. https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2023/09/the-post-covid-19-job-market-ai-in-recruitment-and-career-guidance-services/

Dianova, V. G. & Beretta, E. Central bank expectations management in the age of cryptocurrencies (2023). Reference Module in Social Sciences. Forthcoming in Apergis, N. [Ed.], Encyclopedia of Monetary Policy, Financial Markets and Banking, Elsevier. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-44-313776-1.00095-7

Dianova, V. G., Miniero, G., Suleiman, D. (2023). Towards an open innovation ecosystem in the cultural industry: the bright side of trust and the dark side of measurement. Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing 28(4), e1784. https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.1784

Dianova, V. (2023). Wealth effect, in Rochon, L.-P. and S. Rossi (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Post-Keynesian Economics, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar

Dianova, V. G. & Citraro, M. (2022). The Startup Ideas Accelerator: A pioneering launchpad for innovation. Journal of Economics & Management Policy 3(1).

Dianova, V. G. (2018). The Effectiveness of Monetary Policy after the Financial Crisis: Redefining the Role of the Central Bank. Doctoral thesis, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.

Dianova, V. (2015a). Collateral, in Rochon, L.-P. and S. Rossi (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Central Banking, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 97-99.

Dianova, V. (2015b). Forward guidance, in Rochon, L.-P. and S. Rossi (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Central Banking, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 213-215.

Dianova, V. (2015c). Policy rates of interest, in Rochon, L.-P. and S. Rossi (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Central Banking, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 407-409.

Conference Papers and Presentations:

Dianova, V. G., Schultz, M. D., Miniero, G., Burke, C. Does the human face of AI increase medical AI acceptance? A patient perspective. (2024, July). Paper presented at the 40th EGOS Colloquium, Milan, Italy.

Miniero, G., Pizzetti, M., Grosso, M., Dianova, V. (2023, September). I hate this brand but there is nothing I can do about it. Paper presented at the European Marketing Academy (EMAC) Regional Conference. Athens, Greece.

Dianova, V. G., Schultz, M., Miniero, G. (2023, June) Automation or intuition? Assessing the landscape of future AI-enabled medical decision-making through a dual process theory perspective. Presentation at the 13th European Decision Sciences Conference. Nantes, France.

Montross, L. P. & Dianova, V. G. (2023, April). Exploring the connection between university academic travels, a love of learning, experiences of flow, and a positive outlook on life among international students. Presentation at the 36th World Summit on Positive Psychology Happiness, Mindfulness, and Wellness. Paris, France.

Current projects:

Automation in the healthcare industry: the impact of AI on medical decision-making.
Automation in the healthcare industry: AI ethics and governance of medical AI.
Motivation, love of learning and life-long professional development in the automation age.
Brand hate, complaining behavior and consumer well-being.