Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
1. Introduction
The aim of this course is to familiarise students with economic reasoning applied to the process of European economic integration. Using economic models, it introduces students to the economic logic behind European policies.
2. Course content
Introduction
- History
- Law, Institutions and the Budget
- Decision Making
Economic aspects of European economic integration
- The Essential Economics of Preferential Liberalization
- Market Size and Scale Effects
- Growth Effects and Factor Market Integration
EU policies
- The Common Agricultural Policy
- Location Effects, Economic Geography and Regional Policy
Monetary aspects of European integration
- A monetary history of Europe
- The choice of an exchange rate regime
- The European Monetary System
- Optimum Currency Areas
- The European Monetary Union
Other economic aspects of European economic integration
- Fiscal policy and the stability pact
- The financial markets and the Euro
- Economic integration and labour market institutions
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
This is an introductory course in the economics of the European Union. Upon completion of the course, students should :
- be familiar with facts and figures about the European Union;
- understand the main problems linked to the European economic integration and the main policies adopted by the EU,
- be able to explain them accurately and concisely;
- understand and apply economic reasoning to different issues linked to the formation of the EU
- using this economic reasoning develop their own critical thinking with respect current EU policies
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Students will have had introductory classes in microeconomics and macroeconomics.
This course requires students to be interested in improving their analytical skills, reasoning skills in the field of economics.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
1. Approach followed The course consists essentially of lectures. Certains points are illustrated by current news items.. Students are advised to: - prepare lectures by reading the relevant chapters of the textbook - attend classes (Powerpoint slides downloadable from Lola before each lecture are deliberately incomplete) - make sure that they are capable of explaining with precision each element of economic logic developed during classes. 2. Course schedule The class format is a module of 12 weeks with 2 hours per week. 3. Distribution workload 24h lectures ; 12h of reading of the textbook in preparation of the lectures; 6h of reading current news topics related to themes covered during classes; 20h study time; 4h exam.
Recommended or required readings
Powerpoint slides will be available to download before each lecture.
Textbook: Richard Baldwin and Charles Wyplosz, The economics of European integration, McGraw-Hill
Assessment methods and criteria
1. Evaluation criteria It will be an closed book open questions exam. Evaluation will be based on the student's - knowledge of facts and figures about the EU - capacity of understanding economic reasoning as well as the capacity of explaining it in a accurate and concise way; - capacity to apply economic concepts and reasoning to European economic issues as well as to comment on current events and debates in the news 2. Evaluation calendar The exam takes place in June (first session) as well as in August (second session).
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
Lectures are taught in English during the second semester.
Contacts
Professor: Joseph Tharakan - e-mail: J.Tharakan@ulg.ac.be
Assistant: Kelly Cioppa (email: kelly.cioppa@uliege.be)
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session
Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning
No new contents have been seen since the start of the confinement. The discussion forum is available for your questions. Revision questions will be posted to help you study the contents for the course.
Assessment subjects
The contents for the evaluation will be the contents seen during the classes before the start of the confinement.
Assessment methods
The final grade will be based on assignments which will have to be handed in before the start of the exam session.
Contacts
Lecturer: J. Tharakan (j.tharakan@uliege.be). Assistant: Kelly Cioppa (kelly.cioppa@uliege.be)
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session
Assessment subjects
The contents for the evaluation will be the contents seen during the classes before the start of the confinement.
Assessment methods
The final grade will be based on assignments which will have to be handed in on the day of the exam.
We will use the platform Lol@Examens.
Contacts
Lecturer: J. Tharakan (j.tharakan@uliege.be).
Assistant: Kelly Cioppa (kelly.cioppa@uliege.be)
Items online
Powerpoint slides
Powerpoint slides are available before each lecture on Lola