Seminar

ECTS : 8

Description du contenu de l'enseignement :

The topic of the seminar is  "European Integration: Franco-German Horizons". 
The European Union stands at one of the most important crossroads since the starting point of the integration process. One of the central questions is, if the structure of the so called narrowing union is adequate to solve the existing external and internal problems. The seminar wants to analyze the union’s capacity to act in the global economic and financial structures as well as the existing concepts to solve institutional problems as the national debt crises. It wants to give an answer to the question, if intergovernmental structures in the union are efficient enough to solve these problems or if we have to expect a stronger orientation back to national organizational structures in the future. 

Compétence à acquérir :

• Students get to know central actors of the European Union in the area of politics and economy. Interdependencies for decisions in the area of economic policy on the national, the European and the international level will be analyzed as well as political objectives, their trade-offs and political tools for the European economies.
• Students will apply different economic models and theories to analyze problems of economic policy. 
• Students will learn how to develop own research questions as well as to generate an own research paper with using appropriate scientific resources and literature.
• Students will reflect current developments in economic policy at the national and international level and will formulate essential scientific positions and opinions. During this process they will reflect as well ethical and normative perspectives. 

Mode de contrôle des connaissances :

The form of the evaluation is as follows :

• preparation of a seminar paper (seminar paper of max. 15 pages written in English) (60%) 
• oral presentation of the seminar paper (maximum of 20 minutes) (40%).

Bibliographie, lectures recommandées :

• Baldwin, Richard/Wyplosz, Charles: The Economics of European Integration, McGraw-Hill Education, 5th Edition, 2015
• Pelkmans, Jacques: European Integration. Methods and Economic Analysis, FT Prentice Hall, 3rd Edition, 2006
• European Central Bank: The Monetary Policy of the ECB, Edition 2011, 2011
• Wagener Hans-Jürgen/Egner, Thomas/Heiko, Fritz: Europäische Integration, 2014