Course 2018-2019 a.y.

30056 - EUROPEAN ECONOMIC POLICY

Department of Social and Political Sciences

Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 24 - 26 - 31
CLEAM (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/02) - CLEF (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/02) - BESS-CLES (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/02) - WBB (6 credits - II sem. - OB  |  SECS-P/02) - BIEF (6 credits - II sem. - OBCURS  |  SECS-P/02) - BIEM (6 credits - II sem. - OB  |  SECS-P/02) - BIG (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/02) - BEMACS (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/02)
Course Director:
CARLO ALTOMONTE

Classes: 15 (II sem.) - 16 (II sem.) - 17 (II sem.) - 18 (II sem.) - 24 (II sem.) - 26 (II sem.) - 31 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 15: STEFANO RIELA, Class 16: TOMMASO SONNO, Class 17: CARLO ALTOMONTE, Class 18: ITALO COLANTONE, Class 24: CARLO ALTOMONTE, Class 26: ITALO COLANTONE, Class 31: ITALO COLANTONE


Prerequisites

Students should be familiar with the basics of macroeconomics.

Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

With 20 per cent of the world GDP, a unified market of around 500 million inhabitants, and the second most diffused currency in the world, the euro, the European Union is a key player in international markets. Understanding the origin, rationale and evolution of its policies is thus of paramount importance in order to design optimal corporate strategies for those firms operating in, or dealing with, the EU markets, as well as to assess the evolution of its Member States.

CONTENT SUMMARY

  • The first part of the course explores the economic and policy aspects of the process of European integration, analysing the economic consequences of trade liberalization (customs unions, free trade areas), the liberalization of capital flows (Single market), and the co-ordination of economic policies (economic union). The policy elements behind this evolution (trade policy, competition policy) are analysed in parallel.
  • The course then moves on in studying the main expenditure policies currently undertaken by the European Union (agriculture, cohesion), as developed via the EU budget, including the recent developments related to the (possible) exit of the UK from the EU (Brexit).
  • The final part of the course is devoted to the analysis of the Economic and Monetary Union, from its setup and working as enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty, to the effects and consequences of the financial crisis.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Understand how the international trading systems works, and the role the EU plays vs. other countries (US, China,...).
  • Have a thorough knowledge of the working of the main policies shaping the EU markets (agriculture, competition, cohesion).
  • Understand the evolution of monetary and fiscal policies across the euro area.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Assess the main drivers of the business environment in which firms operate when dealing with the European markets.
  • Design appropriate company strategies in order to successfully operate in the EU market.
  • Compare policies across the EU member states.

Teaching methods

  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
  • Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)

DETAILS

  • Guest speakers from EU Institutions visit the class to give keynote speeches on relevant topics of the course.
  • A number of organized class discussions on hot topics in the current policy debate (eg Brexit) also are organized in class, preparing them in advanced through a selected reading list.

Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
   x x

ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

  • Written general final exam or two partial written exams.
    • The first partial written exam is worth 50% of final marks. It covers the theoretical models on economic integration developed in the first part of the course (one open question, worth 21 pts.) as well as the other topics (10 multiple choice questions, 1 pt. each) covered until the date of the first partial.
    • The second partial exam covers all the remaining topics of the course (two open questions, worth 15 pts. each).
    • You have to pass both partial exams with at least 18/30 to obtain your final grade.
  • The exam is also undertaken as a general exam on the entirety of the course programme (three open questions, worth a total of 21 pts. + 10 multiple choice questions, 1 pt. each).

Teaching materials


ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

  • In order to provide updated materials for a fast evolving subject as the process of European integration, the main materials of the course are provided via lecture notes (slides) uploaded on the course webpage.
  • Companion materials can be found in a special book titled European Economic Policy and created specifically for this course by McGraw Hill, by integrating materials of other existing textbooks. The textbook can be purchased in hard copy from the EGEA bookshop and is marked as ‘EEP’ when referenced in the detailed course content below.
Last change 02/06/2018 14:19