European Economy. Andreas P. Kyriacou Associate Professor of Economics University of Girona

Transcription

1 European Economy Andreas P. Kyriacou Associate Professor of Economics University of Girona

2 1, 2 & 3 History, Institutions and Decision-making in the EU 4 & 5 Economic Integration and Economic Growth 6, 7 & 8 Common Policies: Agriculture, Regions, Trade 9 & 10 The Euro 11 Labour Markets

3 1. History of European Integration 1.Early post-war period and what to do. 2.A divided Europe. 3.Strands of European Integration. 4.The Road to Paris and Rome. 5.The 1960s: Integration with crisis : Europessimism. 7.The 1990s: Berlin, the Euro and the Eastern Enlargement. 8.Current state of affairs. Read: - What is the European Union & Are Americans from Mars, and Europeans from Venus. - The economics of Turkish accession.

4 , 2. Facts, Laws, Institutions and the Budget of the European Union 1. The Treaty of Rome: main elements and omissions. 2. The Maastricht Treaty. 3 Pilars and a Roof. 3. EU Law: types of legislation. 4. Institutions: the Big Some Important Facts: population and GDP. 6. The EU Budget: expenditure, revenues and the eastern enlargement. Read: Who cares about Europe?

5 3. Decision making in the European Union 1.Task allocation and subsidiarity. 2. Fiscal federalism theory: the basic trade-offs. 3.The allocation of policies to the EU 4. Policies and decision rules Read: Table 12. Desirable versus actual allocation of policy responsibilities. Listen: Durao Barroso on what the EU is.

6 4. Economic Integration. Theory and Practice 1. Definitions and levels. 2. Some very introductory micro-economics. 3.Benefits from the creation of a free trade area. 4.Benefits from the creation of a customs union. 5.Benefits of a common market. 6.Capital movements in the Single Market. 7. Competition Rules in the Single Market.

7 4. Economic Integration. Theory and Practice Read: - EU Court says Microsoft abused dominant position, & upholds 497 million euro fine. - Alitalia aid faces European Commission scrutiny Listen: On Microsoft fine.

8 5. Economic Integration and Growth 1. Growth concepts. 2.Integration and growth. 3.The facts across Europe. 4. The experience of Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece. Read: Europe s R&D: Missing the wrong target?

9 6. The Common Agricultural Policy 1. The objectives of the CAP. 2. How does it work? 3. Consequences of the CAP. 4. CAP Reforms. 5. Future challenges due to the eastern enlargement. Read: - Who finances the Queen s CAP payments? - The new food equation: Do EU food policies add up? Listen: Whitty on the CAP

10 7. Location Effects, Economic Geography and Regional Policy 1.Europe s regions: the facts. 2.Economic geography: the theory. 3.The EU s regional policy. 4.The impact of the 2004 enlargement.

11 8. Trade Policy 1. Patterns of world trade: the facts. 2. Differences among member states. 3. Institutions in charge. 4. EU external trade policy. Read: Fortress Europe set to keep up the barricades. Listen: Mandelson on the World Trade negotiations.

12 9. Single Currency. Some Theory: 1. Some mechanics of exchange rates. 2. The macroeconomy: AD & AS. 3. A good question and no simple answer. 4. Benefits and costs in a nutshell. 5. Asymmetric shocks: what can we do? 6. Is the exchange rate effective? 7. The importance of credibility.

13 10. The European Monetary Union: 1. The Maastricht Treaty: Objectives with dates. 2. The convergence criteria: room for interpretation? 3. The ECB: structure, objective and policies. 4. The record so far. 5. The Stability and Growth Pact: theory and practice. Read: A tail of two countries.

14 11. Economic Integration and Labour Markets 1. Message from OCA. 2. Labour market performance. 3. Why? 4. US versus EU. 5. Link with economic integration. 6. How to respond. Read: - Intricate workings. Tackling unemployment requires a careful mixture of policies. - Globalization and the reform of the European social models.

15 Material and Assessment Slides All the slides are available from my web page: Articles All articles will be handed out asap and will be reviewed in the classroom Books Baldwin, Richard and Charles Wyplosz (2006). The Economics of European Integration. 2 nd edition, McGraw-Hill. Main text. McCormick, John (2008). The European Union. Politics and Policies. 4 th edition. Westview Press. Chapters 2 and 16 speak of EU-US relations in the past and present. Neal, Larry (2007). The Economics of Europe and the European Union. Cambridge University Press. Part II of the book contains 10 chapters which basically provide an overview of the economies of EU member states. Assessment A multiple choice mid term exam (30%) (subjects 1 to 3) Final exam of short questions (70%) (subjects 4 to 11)