C8553 - GLOBALIZATION AND EUROPEAN ECONOMIC POLICIES

Learning outcomes

Expectations about economic competition, productive specialization, protection, and competitive advantage shape the design of economic policies. This course provides students with an overview of key debates surrounding the global economy and examines how these debates have influenced—and continue to influence—policy-making in Europe. By the end of the course, students will be able to trace the historical roots of current discussions on tariffs, protectionism, and industrial policy, as well as identify the institutional legacies of these ideas.

Course contents

The course will examine how economic debates on the future of Europe developed around the policies of the European Economic Community and the European Union. It will connect economic ideas and policies.

The course will ba articulated around the examination of various crises/challenges faced by European countries: 

1. The post-war reconstruction and the creation of the EEC in the 1950s; 

2. the Eurosclerosis of the late 1970s and 1980s, which stimulated the innovations of the 1980s and 1990s; 

3. The "Second Globalization" and the European malaise of the 2000s; 

4. The crisis of the Euro Area that started in 2008; 

5. The Response to Covid19 and the creation of the NextGeneration EU fund.

During the course, students will read different kinds of text (scientific articles, grey literature, legal texts, newspaper articles, etc) that will help them to reconstruct the key positions taken by various actors around the issues of European competitiveness and economic growth.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Texts will be provided by the course instructor.

In addition, students can consult: 

Baldwin, R. E., & Wyplosz, C. (2022). The economics of european integration. McGraw-Hill.

Teaching methods

The course will consist of a general introduction. There will be two mandatory readings for each topic consisting of one primary source and one article or chapter producing a reflexive analysis of the topic. Students are expected to read the texts before every class.

Following the general introduction, students will be asked to investigate specific case studies individually or in groups and present their results to the class.

There are no specific prerequisite to the course, although a basic knowledge of economics and knowledge of the history of contemporary Europe may be useful. The course could be usefully complemented by D0102 - LABORATORIO LEGGERE L'UE: STUDIARE L'UE ATTRAVERSO GLI STRUMENTI DELLA RICERCA STORICA - 4 cfu

 

Assessment methods

Grades will be assigned based on students' presentations in class and exam at the end of the year. Each evaluation will count for 1/2 of the final mark.

The maximum possible score is 30 cum laude, in case all anwers are correct, complete and formally rigorous.

The grade is graduated as follows:

<18 failed
18-23 sufficient
24-27 good
28-30 very good
30 e lode excellent

Students can reject the grade obtained at the exam once. To this end, they must email a request to the instructor within the date set for registration. The instructor will confirm reception of the request within the same date.

Non-attending students should contact the professor at the beginning of the course.

In general, all information relative to exams will be send on the Virtuale page of the course.

Teaching tools

All information on the content, methods and tips, and the assessment of the course will be via the Virtuale platform, including the communication for non-attending students.

Office hours

See the website of Federico D'Onofrio