The Euro: a building block or a wrecking ball of the EU?

seminaria magisterskie

The aim of the seminar is to study the performance of the Eurozone as an economic coordination project, the benefits and costs of the European economic architecture with respect to the macroeconomic challenges facing the European Union. problems origins of the crises. The subjects covered will include EU budget rules, macroeconomic imbalances of the Member States, interactions between monetary and fiscal policies of the Eurozone. During the seminar students will gain new knowledge about the governance and economic coordination of the European Union, and should develop research skills necessary to scientifically diagnose the problems and to propose solutions to some of the EU economic challenges in their master thesis. The grading will be based on the progress in the preparation of the MA thesis

The topics of the seminar vary depending on students’ research interests. Main areas from which the subjects of dissertations are chosen include:

1. The origins of the 2009-2016 Eurozone crisis,

2. Economic coordination of the Eurozone, its evolution and practical application,

3. Interactions between ECB’s monetary policy and fiscal policies of EU member states,

4. Crisis prevention and crisis management in the European Union,

5. Eurozone reform looking forward,

6. Economic and practical possibilities of a dissolution of the Eurozone,

7. Rules versus discretion in the Eurozone fiscal policy evaluation.

There is no general required reading for this seminar. Specific readings will be determined by students' interests and preferences. Examples of the literature include:

Relevant parts of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (esp. Title VIII), http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12012E%2FTXT

European Commission (2016), Vade Mecum on the Stability and Growth Pact – 2016 edition, http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/eeip/ip021_en.htm

DeGrauwe, Paul (2013), “Design Failures in the Eurozone: Can they be fixed?”, LEQS Paper No. 57, January 2013

Hans-Werner Sinn (2014), The Euro Trap, Oxford University Press

Marco Buti (2016), “What future for rules-based fiscal policy?” in Progress and Confusion: The State of Macroeconomic Policy, eds. O. Blanchard, R. Rajan, K. Rogoff, L. H. Summers (MIT Press)

IMF (2016), The IMF and the Crises in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, IEO Report

Blanchard, Olivier and Daniel Leigh (2013), “Growth Forecast Errors and Fiscal Multipliers”, IMF WP 13/1

Buiter, Willem H. (2016), "The Simple Analytics of Helicopter Money: Why It Works - Always," Economics, The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal, http://willembuiter.com/helifinal3.pdf

Kawalec, Stefan and Ernest Pytlarczyk, “Controlled dismantlement of the Eurozone: A proposal for a New European Monetary System and a new role for the European Central Bank”, NBP WP No. 155

a) Knowledge:

1. A student has knowledge of the role of the European Monetary Union in the functioning of the EU and its member states' economies

2. A student has the knowledge of methods and tools used to analyse an economy subject to regional policy coordination

b) Abilities:

1. A student is able to model, analyse and interpret the social and economic processes in an economy which is a part of a bigger economic and political union.

2. A student uses the knowledge gained during her/his studies and his own analyses to solve research problems

3. A student is able to conduct an econometric analysis, select data and information, present the outcomes of the research and write it down in a thesis.

c) Social abilities:

1. A student is able to define priorities in the research process.

2. A student is able to acquire and improve her/his knowledge and skills.

KW01, KW02, KW03, KU01, KU02, KU03, KK01, KK02, KK03

The seminar is passed if a student submits her/his master dissertation, which is accepted by the supervisor. In the fall semester the assessment is based on progress reports and presentations given during the seminar.