EUROPEAN ECONOMIC POLICY

1. Knowledge and understanding:  The course aims to highlight the role that supranational policies, particularly those implemented by European institutions, play in the ongoing process of international financial and economic integration. Students will study the primary micro and macroeconomic theoretical models that explain the reasons behind European economic integration and the formation of the European Monetary Union. Economic, trade, fiscal and monetary policies will be critically analyzed, and various policy proposals that are still under discussion, aiming to either strengthen or weaken the European integration process, will be discussed. This aims to enhance students’understanding of the pros and cons of the European integration project.  
2. Applying knowledge and understanding: The student must be capable of actively participating in classroom discussions and working groups, applying the theoretical models studied to assess their applicability and weaknesses in interpreting the ongoing debate surrounding key European economic policies. 
3. Making judgments: Economic policy is a social science, and as such, the selection of objectives, tools, and the very role of the economic policy at the European level can vary depending on the theoretical approach employed. It is crucial for students to cultivate a critical mindset and the ability to independently assess the course’s content.
4. Communication skills:  During the course, students will have the opportunity to enhance and refine the technical and economic language skills acquired during their undergraduate studies. Since the course is taught in English, students will further strengthen their proficiency in technical and economic English. However, all course materials based on the textbook are available in both English and Italian on the Studium platform, ensuring that all students can successfully participate in the course. Students are encouraged to actively engage in classroom discussions, collaborate in teams, develop their interpersonal skills, and present their research findings in class. These presentations draw on English‑language academic and institutional materials recommended by the instructor.
5.  Learning skills: Students learning skills are assessed not only at the end of the course but also during classes, encouraging active participation and providing guidance on the methodology for studying European economic policy. Compared to other economic disciplines, the study of European economic policy necessitates a synthesis of theoretical models with an exploration of specific historical and institutional contexts.

The primary teaching methods employed include traaditional lectures accompanied by teaching materials, where official documents and scientific articles on the evolution of the European economic policy will be reported to connect the theoretical topics with the ongoing debates. Seminars of experts and of people from academic, and European institutions will be also organized to delve deeper into the topics introduced in classroom by the teacher.

An active student partecipation in class is encouraged through the formation of working groups to study academic papers and institutional documents written in English, recommended by the instructor. Working groups will present the results of their studies in classroom and will discuss them with their collegues.  

If the course is delivered in blended or remote mode, appropriate adjustments may be made to the above, in order to ensure consistency with the syllabus.

While no official prerequisites are required, a basic understanding of economics — including microeconomics, macroeconomics, and economic policy — and at least a B2 level of English proficiency are required for successful participation in the course.

Attendance at lectures is typically compulsory.

Attending lectures offers students the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of the course topics by directly engaging with the main arguments presented. Active participation in classroom discussions and involvement in projects groups, where students can delve deeper into subjects chosen by the teacher for presentation, are valuable components of the learning process. Active participation not only enhances students’ awareness of the knowledge they acquire but also provides the teacher with insights into the students’ progress. It allows the teacher to make timely adjustments to the program, if necessary, and to provide additional support to students as needed. 

Essential historical facts of the European integration process. Institutions and decision making: voting systems.

The European integration: a microeconomic approach. The economic theory of the preferential liberalization agreements. Market size and scale effects (the BE-COMP model). Growth effects and factor market integration. Economic integration, labour markets and migration.

Eu Micro Policies. The common agricultural policy. Location effects, economic geography and regional policy. The Structural Funds and the cohesion policy; the instruments introduced by the EU Commission and the ECB in 2020 to counter Covid-19 health and economic emergency: Next Generation UE and PNRR.

Eu competition and state aid policy. Eu trade policy.

The European integration: a macroeconomic approach. Essential facts of monetary integration. Optimum currency areas. The monetary policy of the European Monetary Union. Fiscal policies and the Stability Pact: proposals of reform. The financial markets and the Banking Union. 

The three crisis of the Eurozone and their legacy.     

1. Baldwin R. & C. Wyplosz, 2022, The Economics of European Integration, seventh edition, McGraw-Hill Education, Maidenhead, UK.

2. Supplementary teaching materials in English and Italian, provided by the instructor and supporting the English‑language textbook, are available online on the Studium platform.

The examination is conducted orally and encompasses not only the topics outlined in the syllabus but also the discussion of an essay, written in English, on a subject approved by the instructor. Students are required to send the essay to the teacher via email at least 24 hours before the scheduled examination date, as posted on the Department's website. The essay delves into one of the syllabus topics and is based on a scientific article published in an international journal or website (e.g., voxeu.org) and/or official documents, subject to the teacher's approval. The essay should not exceed four pages (font size 12, 1.5 line spacing). Both the essay and its discussion during the oral exam contribute to the final exam score.

To be eligible for the oral exam, student must register on the Smart_edu platform no later than five (5) days before the official examination date.   

In the oral exam, the following knowledge and capacities will be evaluated by the teacher:

·         The knowledge of the issues in the syllabus;
·         The capacity of using a technical language and understanding the technical and economic language also in the English language;
·         The capacity of a critical approach to the issues studied;
·         The capacity of making connections among the different issues of the syllabus to have a complete framework of the course.

Students who attend the classes will be allowed to work in groups on the essay and present it in the classroom as part of the course activities. The in‑class presentation will contribute to the final exam score. Attendance will be verified through occasional checks, during which students present in class will be asked to sign an attendance sheet. Students with at least 80% attendance are considered attending students and are therefore eligible to prepare the group essay and present it in class at the end of the course.

Assessment criteria:

The exam is passed if the student shows to understand and express orally the basic knowledge of the program of the course and to have a minimum capacity to apply this knowledge to deepen the issue of the essay. Higher the knowledge of the issues in the syllabus, the capacity of a critical approach, of orally clearly expressing and making connections among the issues in the syllabus, higher the score in the final oral exam. The maximum score is given to the oral exam when all the criteria considered above will be respected.        

Learning assessment may also be carried out on-line, should the conditions require it. To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students may request a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures based on educational objectives and specific needs. Students can also contact the CInAP (Centro per l'Integrazione Attiva e Partecipata - Servizi per le disabilità e/o i DSA) referring teacher within their department (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti) 

Self-assessment questions and exam questions are reported at the end of each chapter of the textbook 1.

As an example, some oral questions that do not correspond to the minimum knowledge to pass the exam are reported:

1.      What are the differences between a Customs Union and a Free Trade Agreement? Give examples. 

2.    Describe, pointing out the most significant steps, the position of the United Kingdom regarding the European integration process. Define and compare the supranational and intergovernmental approaches as alternative models of policy integration; say what has been the approach preferred by UK. 

3.    What are the “Big Five” EU institutions? Which of them are based on supranational principles and which on intergovernmental principles? 

4.      Describe the evolution in the main UE Treaties of the Council’s voting rules and how they contribute to the decision-making procedures and to the distribution of power among the European institutions. 

5.    Relying on diagrammatic explanations, describe the social welfare effects of unilateral discriminatory liberalization. Point out in the diagrams, and explain what the “Smith’s certitude”, the “Haberler’s spillover” and the “Viner’s ambiguity” are. 

6.    Relying on diagrammatic explanations, describe the BE-COMP model and the impact of European Integration.

7.    Describe Mundell, Kenen and McKinnon criteria to define an optimum currency area. On the base of these criteria, discuss if the Eurozone is an optimum currency area. 

8. The principles on which the EU monetary policy is based? 

9. Why is NextGenerationEU an important innovation? 

10. The structure and the role of the Banking Union.