European Economics – UO

About this course

This is an introductory course to the economics of the European integration. The course has two objectives:
(i) to improve your knowledge about European economics, in general
(ii) to increase your ability to analyze economic policy questions related to European integration, European Union (EU) enlargement, or the impact of Brexit and Covid-19 on the EU.

Expected learning outcomes

This is an introductory course to the economics of the European integration. The course has two objectives:
(i) to improve your knowledge about European economics, in general
(ii) to increase your ability to analyze economic policy questions related to European integration, European Union (EU) enlargement, or the impact of Brexit and Covid-19 on the EU.

Indicative Syllabus

Lecture 1. European history, facts and institutions
Topics: European history, Steps of Integration, European enlargements, European
Institutions
Lecture 2. Trade, firms location and labor migration in the enlarged EU
Topics: Trade dynamics and economic activities location pattern, New economic geography
theory, Labor migration: stylized facts, followed by a simple model of labor migration
Lecture 3. European monetary integration
Topics: Optimum currency area theory (economic and political criteria); Application to the
Eurozone
Lecture 4. EU macroeconomic policies
Topics: Monetary policy, Maastricht criteria, Fiscal policy
Lecture 5. From one crisis to another: the European responses
Topics: Global Financial Crisis, Eurozone Crisis, Brexit, Covid-19

Schedule

A two-hour slot on Mondays (from 13:30 to 15:30 CET), online :
– 11 March 2024
– 18 March 2024
– 25 March 2024
– 8 April 2024
– 15 April 2024

Selected Bibliography

Badinger H. and V. Nitsch (2015), Handbook on the Economics of European Integration,
Routledge
Baldwin R. and Ch. Wyplosz (2022), The Economics of European Integration, 7th edition,
McGraw-Hill
Hare P. and R. Turley (2013), Handbook of the Economics and Political Economy of
Transition, Routledge