General information

• Study points: 6.00
• Language: English
• Category: Lectures
• Duration: 39.0 hours 
• Periodicity: Taught in the first semester
• POC: POC Engelstalige Masters FEB

Taught by

Abraham Filip
Van Mourik Adrianus (substitute)

Aims

The course deals with key aspects of the European economic and business environment in which companies operate;  The objective is to provide an insight in the economic developments that are changing the European and global market place today.
Upon completion of this course, students should be:
- be familiar with historical, economic and institutional developments involving the economic integration in the European Union;
- understand the economic theory of customs unions and be familiar with the main features of the EU's internal market;
- critically discuss the economic issues involved in the EU's main economic policy areas;
- understand economic issues of the Economic and Monetary Union in the EU;
 

Content

The course will cover the main theoretical issues related to the economic analysis custom unions, common markets, the internal market and the monetary union. In addition, it will concentrate on key economic policy issues of the EU, such as the EU’s external trade policy, competition policies; labor mobility, migration and social policies, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); regional cohesion, and coordination of fiscal policies and the ECB’s monetary policy.

Course Material

The course will make use of the following textbook: R. Baldwin and C. Wyplosz, The economics of European Integration, McGraw Hill, 3rd ed. In addition we use a couple of papers from other sources, to complement the book. This additional literature will be made available on Toledo, hence it will not be distributed in another way.

Course activities

  Chapters refer to Baldwin and Wyplosz textbook
 
Week 1 :
 Introduction and overview of the course 
The political dimension: history and institutions of the EU
 Readings:
Chapters 1-2
 
 Week 2 : 
 Subsidiarity and the Opening up of markets
 Readings:
Chapters 3-4
 
Week 3 : 
 Economics of Preferential Trade liberalization

Readings:
Chapter 5
  
Week 4 :  
 The Internal market and its effects (market size, scale and growth effects)
 Readings:
Chapters 6-7
  
Week 5 :  
Labour markets, migration and social policy 
 Readings:
- Chapter 8
 
Week 6:   
 Competition policy & state aids
 Readings: 
·         Chapter 14
·         A. van Mourik, Economics of Competition Policy (Toledo)
  
Week  7: 
 The Common Agricultural Policy
 Readings: 
Chapter 12
 
Week 8:  
 Regional Problems and Policy in the EU

Readings: 
Chapter 13

 
Week 9:  
EMU: Monetary history of Europe and the EMS
Readings: 
Chapters 16
  
Week 10:  
 The economics of the EMU
 Readings:
Chapters 17
 
Week 11:  
 Fiscal policy coordination in the EU
 Readings: 
Chapter 18
Aad van Mourik, The economics of tax harmonization in the EU (Toledo)
 
Week 12:  
 The Common Trade & Aid Policy

Readings:
Chapters 15
 
 
Week 13:  
 EU preferential trading agreements, do they work?
 Readings: 
·         Panagariya, A. (1999). The Regionalism Debate: An Overview. World Economy, June 1999, pp. 477-511. (Toledo)
·         Panagariya, A. (2002). EU Preferential Trade Policies and Developing Countries. World Economy, November 2002, pp. 1415-32. (Toledo)
 

Evaluation description

Examination type:
    written
When?: final examination during examination period
Evaluation type:
    Closed book

Explanation

·         The grading is based on a written closed book exam at during the official exam period.
·         During an academic year, the student has 2 chances to participate to the exam: a first time during the first or second examination period, and a second time during the third examination period.
·         The characteristics of the evaluation of the third examination period are similar to those of the first or the second examination period.