The European Economy
Module Code: EC3030
Module Title: European Economy
- ECTS Weighting: 10
- Semester/Term Taught: Michaelmas + Hilary Term
- Contact Hours: 44 hours of lectures and 8 hours of tutorials
- Module Personnel: Lecturer - Professor John O'Hagan / Lecturer - Professor Michael Wycherley
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:
- Review and summarise published material on various key aspects of European economic integration.
- Explain the importance and relevance of the information contained in this reading material on European economic integration.
- Explain and apply some basic economic theory and diagrams to issues of European economic policy.
- Compare and contrast, using this theoretical economics framework, different aspects of the policy debate surrounding European economic integration.
- Formulate a balanced, critical judgment on the status of each of these debates.
Module Learning Aims
The aim of this module is to equip students with a critical understanding of the major issues facing the European economy. The module provides a blend of descriptive information, theory and empirical analysis. The emphasis is on economic issues but these issues are studied in their political, institutional, and historical context. Theoretical analysis forms an essential part of the module and requires knowledge of intermediate micro- and macroeconomics. Particular attention is devoted to policy areas in which EU co-ordination has progressed furthest: monetary integration, internal market, external trade policy, regional policy, factor mobility, agriculture, and competition policy. The module is suitable for any JS student who has taken Economics in his/her SF year and all Visiting Students who have acquired an equivalent level of Economics training.
Module Content
Michaelmas Term (Prof. O'Hagan):
- Historical evolution of the European Union.
- Law, institutions and budget.
- Decision making: fiscal federalism, distribution of power and legitimacy.
- Economic growth. Facts and explanations.
- Employment. Performance, labour market rigidities and EU labour market institutions.
- Location effects, economic geography and regional policy.
- Agriculture: reasons for intervention, history, reforms and outlook.
Hilary Term (Prof. Michael Wycherley)
- The macroeconomics of monetary integration.
- Europe's exchange rate history.
- European Monetary Union.
- Fiscal policy in EMU.
- EMU and financial markets.
- Trade theory, customs unions and EU trade policy.
Recommended Reading List
Baldwin, R. and Wyplosz, C. (2012) (4th edition), The Economics of European Integration, McGraw-Hill.
The above is essential reading for both halves of the module. Lectures will closely follow the material in this book. Other reading material will be provided at lectures. In addition, students should keep abreast of current European economy issues through newspapers and magazines, particularly the Financial Times and the Economist and the web references provided in the Baldwin and Wyplosz book.
Module Pre Requisite
EC2010
Assessment Details
Michaelmas Term: This half of the module accounts for 50% of the marks for the module. This 50% will be allocated as follows: 10% for test in Week 8, 10% for an essay due first week of Hilary Term and 30% for the annual examination. (For students here for Michaelmas Term only, the test will count for 50% of the final mark, the essays (two essays have to be submitted) for the remaining 50%)
Hilary Term: This half of the module accounts for 50% of the marks for the module. This 50% will be allocated as follows: 15% for an assignment due in week 8 of Hilary Term and 35% for the annual examination. (For students here for Hilary Term only, the weighting will be 30% for the assignment and 70% for the annual exam, of which HT students will have to answer three questions from Section B of the exam).
Module Website
Michaelmas Term: http://www.tcd.ie/Economics/staff/johagan/ec3030/
Hilary Term: http://sites.google.com/site/wycherlm/