ES 202 European Economics – Jean-Baptiste Jault

January 17, 2014

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY – CENTRAL ASIA

EUROPEAN ECONOMICS – ES 202 (ID: 2478)

SYLLABUS

SPRING 2014

 

Professor: Jean-Baptiste Jault

E-mail: jb.jault@gmail.com

Schedule: Monday, Friday, 14.10

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The European Economics course is designed to provide students with the knowledge of the economic developments and policies in Europe. We will focus on main steps of EU construction and current economic policies as the Common Agricultural Policy, monetary unification, external policy, regional cohesion.

By the end of this course students should be familiar with the economics of the EU integration, understand key steps in EU construction and key concepts in the current EU policies. Students should also be able to analyze, assess and criticize developments within the European Union and the role of EU in the world those days.

 

COURSE ORGANIZATION

The course will consist of a combination of lectures, seminars, oral presentation and research paper. Please note that there will be no midterm exam and final exam will take place during the last week of the course.

1. Lectures: Lectures are the main didactic base for the course. There are no hard copies of the lectures. Students are expected to take detailed notes during the classes. Lectures will also include interactive assignments and discussions in which students are expected to participate.

2. Seminars: seminars will include class discussions and homework assignments.

3. Oral presentation: students will have to complete an oral presentation on a recent article published on one of the major European or US magazines or newspapers in English

4. Research Paper: Students have to write a 4-6 page research paper on a subject of your choice among the “research paper topics”. The evaluation of your paper will be based on presentation and structure, content, correct use of sources and deadline. You will have to submit your paper by e-mail on the date that they are due (last Friday before the beginning of final exams week, May 2^nd 2014).

5. Examinations: There will be one final examination. The exact date of the exam will be posted in class. Exam consists of a combination of multiple-choice, open questions and one bonus question.

 

ASSESSMENT PLAN

The final grade will be determined as follows:

 

Grade components	Percent
Final exam	25
Class work
Oral presentation	20
Research paper	25
Participation in class	20
Class attendance	10
Extra Work (under conditions)	Grade will substitute “class attendance” (10% of final grade)
TOTAL	100

 

Grading information:

A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D+	D	D-	F
90-100	86-89	82-85	78-81	74-77	70-73	66-69	62-65	58-61	54-57	50-53	49 –b/w

 

GENERAL REMARKS

Attendance counts towards 10% of your total grade. You have the right to two non-excused absences, from third absence your final grade will be lowered by 10%.

About participation in funeral procedure, the law of the Kyrgyz Republic allows students to take only 3 days officially.

Cheating and plagiarism will be sanctioned.

Students should pay attention to their final grade all along the semester. If you feel that you might be close to the grade F, come to see the instructor maximum 2 weeks before the end of the semester (no request will be accepted during the last 2 weeks of the semester; “2 weeks” does not include the week for final exam), some additional work could be given under certain conditions.

Communication between students and instructor will be mainly made through emails. Make sure the instructor has the correct email address. If you do not receive emails, please inform the instructor as soon as possible. It is not the responsibility of the instructor if you do not receive emails.

 

LECTURE TOPICS

 

	Topics Note: Topics are subject to change
Unit 1	Introduction to course. Syllabus Review/Course overview
Unit 2	The economics of the European Union integration: From Rome to Maastricht and beyond The European project; European Communities and treaties and their impact on the economic development and policies
Unit 3	The EU institutions and their economic role European Commission, European Council, Council of European Ministers, European Parliament, European Central Bank, EU agencies
Unit 4	Common market of the EU Free trade area; customs union; common market; harmonization; mutual recognition; single market; structural policies
Unit 5	European Monetary Union and the Single Currency European Central Bank; the introduction of euro; banking system; financial crisis
Unit 6	Labor market and employment Labor market policies; unemployment in Europe; European employment strategies and measures
Unit 7	Budget and taxation The EU budget; Revenues and expenditures; Tax harmonization
Unit 8	Common Agricultural policy The impact of the CAP on the EU economy; agricultural reforms; EU subsidies; challenges of European agriculture
Unit 9	Social-economic policies Social security; pension system; gender, demographic and family issues; the impact of immigration, the impact of the EU economic policy on European society.
Unit 10	Energy policy Towards a common energy policy; European Energy Charter; supply problems, external relations
Unit 11	Environment & Transport EU environmental policy developments; renewable energy; policy-making process and institutions (Environment Directorate General, European Parliament, European Environment Agency); Transport infrastructure and Trans-European networks; regional agreements.
Unit 12	EU Competition Policy EU competition policy and member states’ strategies; industrial policy and changes; pursuing competitiveness; globalization and delocalization
Unit 13	External trade relations & Foreign Policy
Unit 14	Remaining student presentations

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Artis Mike & Nixson Frederick, (2007), The Economics of the EU, 4^th ed., The Oxford University Press

Articles on the EU economics from newspapers

 

Useful online sources of information about the EU:

http://europa.eu

The portal site of the European Union

http://europa.eu/abc/index_en.htm

Simple introduction to the EU and its work

www.en.euabc.com

A dictionary with short explanations of important EU works and links to further information.

The European Parliament: www.europarl.eu

The European Commission: www.ec.europa.eu

The Council of the EU: www.consilium.europa.eu

 

Research paper topics	Student’s name	Approved	Grade
1. The Economic Gains of European Integration for recently integrated countries (last 10 countries)
2. European Integration and Labor Migration
3. European financial markets and banking sector after the crisis
4. Has France lost influence among the European Union?
5. Greek crisis and impacts on European Union
6. Recent evolutions in the European financial system
7. Comparative analysis of the social security systems of France, the UK and Germany
8. Free trade agreement between EU and South Korea
9. Scandinavian economic and social model: is it still a model for Europe?
10. The European Union’s Energy Security Challenges
11. A comparative analysis of the labor market measures in 2 European countries
12. German Leadership in the European Union

 

 

<< go to news list