What business opportunities lie beyond the blockade? What kind of boom could a lifted embargo have on the United States? Even with the embargo in place, the United States is Cuba’s 4th of 5th largest trading partner today, mainly of agricultural items. The course will explore these challenging questions and other issues related to the economic environment in Cuba.

The course consists of six sessions of 1.5 hours in New York during the first six weeks of the Spring semester and a field trip to Cuba. A week-long visit to Havana will include visits to companies addressing the challenges of managing firms in the region, across a variety of sectors. Please note that due to the special academic license we will travel under, there are strict scheduling and policies that this class must adhere to. This class will meet during the A-term on Wednesdays from 4:00-5:30pm with one meeting after spring break where students will present their final research projects. Travel will take place to Havana, from Friday, March 11 through Friday, March 18, 2016.

Global Immersion Program classes bridge classroom lessons and business practices in another country. These three credit classes meet for half a term in New York prior to a one week visit to the country of focus where students will meet with business executives and government officials while working on team projects. Upon return from the travel portion of the class, students will have at least one wrap up meeting at Columbia Business School. The 2015-2016 Global Immersion Program fee for all classes is $1800 and provides students with double occupancy lodging, ground transportation and some meals. It does not cover roundtrip international airfare; or airfare between New York and Havana. We will arrange for a charter to Havana either from New York; we expect these flight costs to be approximately $1000-1100. Attendance both in New York and in-country and regular participation are a crucial part of the learning experience and as such attendance is mandatory. Students who miss the first class meeting may be removed from the course, and will not have their program fee refunded to them. No program fee refunds will be given after the add/drop period has closed.

Stephan Meier

Professor of Business

Stephan Meier is a Professor of Business at Columbia Business School. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Zurich, was previously a senior economist at the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision-Making at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and taught courses on strategic interactions and economic policy at Harvard University and the University of Zurich. His research interest is...

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