Seminar in European Economics

General characterization

Prerequisites

Mandatory Precedence:

- 1100. Introduction to Microeconomics

- 1101. Introduction to Macroeconomics

Bibliography

Baldwin R. and C. Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, McGraw Hill. The Portuguese Economy in the Context of the Economic, Monetary. and Fin. In: http://www.bportugal.pt/en-US/BdP Publications Research/bk200901.pdf

Teaching method

Classes are expository, promoting debate between students. On several occasions along the semester, classes are presented by invited lecturers, with expertise in the specific topics.
The existence of invited lecturers in some theoretical classes, the elaboration of a term paper on an applied topic and its related interviews, aim at motivating students’ autonomy for applied economic analysis.

Evaluation method

The Final Exam is mandatory and must cover the entire span of the course. Its weight in the final grade can be between 30 to 70%. The remainder of the evaluation can consist of class participation, midterm exams, in class tests, etc. Overall, written in class assessment (final exam, midterm) must have a weight of at least 50%.

The evaluation is composed of three blocks: i) Practical evaluation (20%), ii) team term paper (30%) and iii) final exam (50%). The practical evaluation mostly consists of a mid- term quiz to answer in class, which aims at preparing the students to the type of questions raised in the final exam, and participation in class. The term papers consist on a quantitative response to a question raised by the teaching team, discussing also policy lessons (presentation in class). Students should complement their individual research with
 
interviews to economists/researchers with experience in the topic studied. Groups should have four students (minimum of three and maximum of five). The final exam includes all topics covered in class.
«Describe Assessment Methods»


Regular Exam Period
Practical evaluation (midterm 15% (if grade lower than exam, this weight adds to final exam) + participation in class 5%) = 20%
Term-paper 30%
Final exam (and their weighting): Minimum of 50%, maximum of 75%



Resit Exam Period
Best option between 1) rules used for the regular exam period and 2) exam weighting 100% Final exam (and its weight): Minimum of 50%, maximum of 100%

Grade Improvement in Regular Period
Final exam 100%

Final exam (and its weight): 100%


Grade Improvement in Resit Period
Best option between 1) rules used for the regular exam period and 2) exam weighting 100%


Final exam (and their weighting): Minimum of 50%, maximum of 100%

Subject matter

The first part of the course briefly overviews the history, institutions and decision process in the EU. The second part of the course analyses the current economic challenges in the EU, with examples from the Portuguese experience since the mid-70s. The second part of the course analyses the rationale of the different European policies and their impact on the European economy. The third part of the course puts emphasis on key topics like migration, energy and globalization.

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: