European Economy

Teacher(s)

Courtoy François;

Language

English

Main themes

The course introduces students to the micro- and macro-economic principles underlying the dynamics of European integration, the conduct of economic policies in the European Union, as well as the design and functioning of the Union’s institutions. Obviously, the scope of the EU’s mandate in the realm of economic policies is too broad to be covered in one course, and coverage must be selective. Three fundamental considerations shape the content of the course which may vary depending on current developments. First, economic integration unleashes powerful forces which, if well-managed, can foster prosperity. Second, economic integration without political integration requires international policy coordination to internalize the spillovers and interdependencies resulting from integration. Third, the governance framework supporting such coordination in turn influences the integration process. In particular, inadequate governance could undermine the process of economic integration.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The objective of this course is to provide students with a frame of reference of European realities so that they can understand the nature of European Economics, the particular related issues and the economic policies that have been adopted. This framework should enable them to examine critically the nature of the hypotheses within the theoretical models elaborated in the specialist courses (International Economics, Work Economics, Regional Economics, Industrial Economics etc) and to judge their relevance in understanding and implementing European policies.

Content

This course focusses on the European Union and on the European Economy. While the European union today is already quite a well-integrated market, the integration process has been a steady one and is not over yet.  The European customs union formation resulted in an strong increase in internal EU trade and boosted welfare for most countries. The well-functioning of the Eurozone is heavily dependent on whether Europe can be considered an optimal currency area. This is a set of conditions that need to be fulfilled whenever a number of countries decide to give up their national money and have a common one where they give up the right to exercise an independent monetary policy. This course discusses the European integration process and the euro formation from an economic point of view. Also the challenges that Europe is facing will be discussed using an economic framework.

Teaching methods

Lectures and tutorials.

Evaluation methods

A written exam after the lectures, and regular assignments for the tutorials.

Other information

Some prior knoweldge of microeconomics and macroeconomics is required for this course.
The communication between the professor and the students takes place through the electronic platform Moodle. You should enroll in the course to have access to the online documents such as the slides or supplementary material.

Faculty or entity

ESPO