European Economics

I. Main elements of the EU Single Market

Main steps in European integration, institutions, legislative procedure
Static welfare effects of free trade and customs union
Cross-border value chains
Static welfare effects of labour mobility
Migration in the European union – motivation and hurdles, qualification and job match
Capital mobility, technological progress, growth and convergence
EU competition policy – rationale and instruments
Potential output and output gaps – concept, production function approach, structural unemployment rate, growth accounting

II. Monetary union and financial markets

Pros and cons of a common currency
The 2008/9 financial crisis – characteristics, forces and costs
EU Banking Union – rationale, institutions, key issues
The European Monetary System (EMS) – basic features
The Euro System – entry conditions and structure
Monetary policy in the euro area – main transmission channels, instruments and policies

III. Fiscal policy and governance

Government balances and debt – key definitions, debt dynamics and cyclical adjustment
Fiscal policy – impact, challenge
Fiscal governance – rationale, surveillance and its limitations, no-bail-out clause and credibility

Please sign up for the course in ZEUS

The course material can be found on ILIAS (for registered students).

All sessions will take place on location at the university. Lecture dates:

Exam (Registration to the exam requires preparation of written answers on two papers):

Tuesday, 13.02.2024.

Lecture on Economics of European Integration