ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL APPROACHES|EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

This module aims to introduce students to the main political economy issues that have driven the process of European integration from the aftermath of WWII to...

Political Economy of European Integration (SESS0026)

This module aims to introduce students to the main political economy issues that have driven the process of European integration from the aftermath of WWII to an uncertain present. In this course, we will investigate the European economic integration by revealing the interactions between economic efficiency and socio-political interests. To do so, the module first provides a historical and institutional background on the early formation and later evolution of the European Union. It will then cover in more details specific EU policies and areas of interest related to both macroeconomics (monetary and fiscal policy, with a focus on crisis times) and microeconomics (trade and competition in the single market, distributive issues, labour market and welfare policies). Throughout the course, students will be guided to apply and relate theoretical knowledge from alternative schools of thought (neoclassical economics versus critical political economy) to explore different angles and appreciate the complexity of EU economic policy-making.

 

CLASS FORMAT:

The course will be taught through weekly one-hour lectures (pre-recorded, via LectureCast) plus weekly two-hour seminars (synchronous, via Zoom). Seminars will be highly interactive, involving presentations and discussions of lecture topics. Each seminar will be followed by a synchronous online QA session to address students’ queries on the week’s topic.

 

COURSE PREREQUISITES:

Students must have taken and passed Introduction to Microeconomics and/or Introduction to Macroeconomics, or equivalent.

 

MAIN READINGS:

Baldwin and Wyplosz (2019) The Economics of European Integration, McGrawHill.

Stiglitz, J. (2015) Rewriting the Rules of the European Economy, WW Norton.