accessibility

Course description

Title of the Teaching Unit

European Economics

Code of the Teaching Unit

22MEP10

Academic year

2024 - 2025

Cycle

Number of credits

5

Number of hours

60

Quarter

1

Weighting

Site

Anjou

Teaching language

English

Teacher in charge

SALEH Ruba

Objectives and contribution to the program

This course is aimed to improve students' capacity for critical evaluation of EU monetary policies
and their oral and written communication skills. It encourages students to place the EU within the global context and to open up to the world and think globally.
The students are expected to :
- Improve their understanding of the EU Green Deal, EU Economic and monetary union, EU Social and economic rights, EU new challenges & EU and the world.
- Comprehend the policies and regulatory measures that have to do with their daily life.
- Understand the process of economic and monetary integration within the European Union, mainly:
1) Trade in product and factor markets;
2) Labour market related issues, including unemployment and immigration;
3) EU sovereign debt crisis;
4) The European Monetary System;
5) The Maastricht process;
6) The European financial integration.

Competency Goals :
CG 1 Disciplinary Knowledge
CG4 Open to the world
CG5 Aware of complexity / Critical Mind
CG6 Communicate orally and in writing in several languages

Prerequisites and corequisites

There are no specific requisites for this course. That said, students are expected to be fluent in English and to have a basic knowledge of economics.

Content

This course offers a snapshot of the European Union economic trends and prospects. In the last few years, Europe faced multiple external shocks starting with the COVID-19 pandemic which severely impacted the global supply chains and caused a shift in the composition of demand in the economy, aways from services and towards goods. These challenges were exacerbated due to the war in Ukraine which not only created a humanitarian crisis but also a substantial disruption to the economic activity and increased energy and commodity market pressures. In addition, the EU committed itself to tackle the triple transition. A transition towards a greener, inclusive and more digital future which requires further efforts and using the entire toolbox of mitigation policies and regulatory measures.
To understand the constraints and possibilities for managing the present multiple crises and challenges, it is necessary to understand the political economic landscape. The decisions taken today will determine the future path of the European project. This course aims to expose the students to the key issues at stake at the institutional level and which have direct repercussions of students’ daily life.
In this course the most important aspects of the process of European monetary integration and the actual functioning of Economic and Monetary Union will be discussed. Prominent is a political economy approach, with the emphasis on the interplay of political and economic factors, to capture the multi-dimensional nature of the transfer of sovereignty, which is at the heart of the integration process.

- How to understand the current European Union economic trends and prospects (R.Saleh)
- European Monetary Union (I.Maes)

This course is aimed to improve students' capacity for critical evaluation and their oral and written
communication skills. It encourages students to place the EU within the global context and to open up to the world and to think globally.

The students are expected to:
- Improve their understanding of the EU Green Deal, EU Economic and monetary union, EU Social and economic rights, EU new challenges & Europe and the world.
- Comprehend the policies and regulatory measures that have to do with their daily life.
- Understand the process of economic and monetary integration within the European, mainly:
1) Trade in product and factor markets;
2) Labour market related issues, including unemployment and immigration;
3) EU sovereign debt crisis;
4) The European Monetary System;
5) The Maastricht process;
6) The European financial integration.

Teaching methods

This course adopts an interactive class setting and it incorporates the following elements:
- Lectures given by the lecturers and invited high-level experts
- Questions and interventions by the students, pitch and discussions.
- Group work, debate, individual & collective reflections

Teaching activities are all in person. Presence and active participation in the course and conference series are compulsory. Students are also expected to participate in the visit to the National Bank of Belgium.

The conference series is a conceived as a dynamic gathering during which high-level Eurocrats share their opinions and views on economics trends and prospects and the main issues at stake in the European monetary union.

Assessment method

-Class participation
-written reports and oral presentations to be completed in study groups
-Written report to be completed individually.

European Union economic trends and prospects (R.Saleh)

The assessment will be made based on conference attendance and active participation (30%). Individual work (35%) and group work (35%).

Attendance and active participation (30%)
Before each conference, students are requested to prepare between 1-3 questions to one or both speakers.

Individual work (35%)
An individual reflection on one or more of the multiple economic crises and challenges facing the EU and its repercussions on your country and your daily life. The maximum number of words is 1500. Standard citations rules apply.

Group work (35%)
Students will create study groups of 4 people. Each group will choose to study one of the 11 topics addressed in the five conferences and prepare a final group pitch on the identified topic. The pitch should address the topic from your group’s perspective and answer the following questions:
-What is the issue at stake (your selected topic)?
-What are the key challenges and opportunities?
-Who is the target group(s) and what are the main policies/measure(s)?
-What works and what could be improved?
-What is in it for you as young generation?
The maximum number of words is 5000. Standard citations rules apply.

Prof. Saleh: I expect you to use AI (ChatGPT & image generation tools) for assisting you in gathering relevant information for the production of your assignments which includes: Exploring a topic; Find relevant sources; Translate a text or reformulate points seen in class. Please remember that AI is a tool which you need to acknowledge using otherwise you will be graded down.

European Monetary Union (I.Maes)
The assessment will be made based on class participation (30 %), written paper and presentation (40 %), briefing paper (between 700 and 800 words). The topic of the briefing paper will be announced on 21 November 2024 and the paper has to be handed in on 19 December 2024 (late submissions will not be accepted). The paper should be forward looking (30 %).

Prof. Maes: The use of generative AIs is prohibited for the written paper, presentation & briefing paper.

References

- Moodle: Announcements, Forum, class presentations, handouts & reading materials

Useful links:
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-and-fiscal-governance/stability-and-growth-pact_en
https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/capital-markets-union_en
https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/transition-pathways_en
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/section/191/social-and-employment-policy
https://european-union.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/actions-topic/trade_en
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html


Books:
Baldwin, Richard and Charles Wyplosz 2022, The Economics of European Integration, McGraw Hill.
Blanchard, Olivier and Alessia Amighini and Francesco Giavazzi, 2021, Macroeconomics: a European Perspective, Pearson Education Limited.
Ivo Maes, with Ilaria Pasotti, Robert Triffin: A Life, Preface by Jacques de Larosière, Oxford: Oxford University Press, February 2021.
Kenneth Dyson and Ivo Maes (eds.), Architects of the Euro. Intellectuals in the Making of European Monetary Union, Oxford University Press, August 2016.
Maes Ivo and Frank Moss (eds.), Progress through crisis?, ECB, 2014
Maes Ivo, Half a century of European financial integration, Mercatorfonds, 2007

Reports & essays:
OCDE (2023), OECD Economic Surveys: European Union and Euro Area 2023, Éditions OCDE, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/7ebe8cc3-en.
OCDE (2023), Towards a Triple Transition : Strategies for Transformational European Development Action, Éditions OCDE, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/094322ba-en.
European Economic and Social Committee (2023), What ways and means for a real strategic autonomy of the EU in the economic field?. Report
Ivo Maes, A Tale of Two Treatises: The Werner and Delors Reports and the Birth of the Euro, Bruegel Essay, February 2024. https://www.bruegel.org/system/files/2024-04/Essay%2001%202024.pdf