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European Economics

Code: 106192
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Contemporary History, Politics and Economics OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Jan Luca Hennig
Email :
janluca.hennig@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Students should have completed Introduction to Economics (I and II), Public Economics, and International Economics. The course assumes familiarity with basic microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts and builds from these foundations toward a critical analysis of contemporary debates on the European economy

Objectives

This course examines the economic development of Europe from the aftermath of the Second World War to the present, with the process of European integration as its organising thread. The aim is to give students both a historical account of how the European Union came to take its current form and the economic tools to analyse why integration unfolded as it did, who gained and who lost at each stage, and what trade-offs the central policy choices involved.

The course proceeds chronologically, i.e. from the early steps of integration through the customs union, the single market, successive enlargements, and monetary union, to the crises of the post-2008 period and the geoeconomic challenges of today.The class pairs each historical episode with the applied economic reasoning needed to interpret it.

Learning outcomes

  1. Work as part of a team and be able to argue own proposals and validate or refuse the arguments of others in a reasonable manner.
  2. Demonstrate capacity to adapt to changing environments.
  3. Organise work in relation to good time management and planning.
  4. Demonstrate initiative and the capacity to work autonomously when the situation requires.
  5. Lead multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, implement new projects, coordinate, negotiate and manage conflicts.
  6. Make decisions in situations of uncertainty and show an enterprising and innovative spirit.
  7. Identify classical and modern theories of international commerce and the associated empirical evidence.
  8. Recognise the determining principles in business internationalisation processes.
  9. Understand the main indicators of competitivity in countries.
  10. Identify the links that condition relations of international free trade and, in general, limit the globalisation process.
  11. Identify the determining factors in direct foreign investments and international migration as well as their socio-economic impact in the country of origin and destination.
  12. Relate theories and institutions to international trade regulation.
  13. Describe the international factor movement and analyse the corresponding markets.
  14. Interpret the economic facts of the contemporary world and the current situation of the global economy.
  15. Identify the characteristics o the economic and monetary integration process in Europe and its causes and consequences.
  16. Recognise the causes of economic crises and their impact on different sectors of activity and national economies.
  17. Identify the characteristics of patterns of economic growth in Europe in the second half o the 20th century.
  18. Understand the need for and effects of political and economic reforms carried out since the crisis of the Economic and Monetary Union and also those pending or currently in force.
  19. Analyse the impact of a change in resources on international trade, and incorporate the relationship between growth and international trade.
  20. Analyse the balance, in terms of welfare, of different commercial policies.
  21. Find trade patterns according to comparative advantages.
  22. Identify comparative advantages.
  23. Consider the impact of different commercial policies (fees, duties, subsidies, etc.) on international equilibrium.
  24. Convey the diversity of products with imperfect competition and returns to scale.
  25. Recognise the groups of agents that benefit from trade and the groups of agents that are harmed by international trade.
  26. Use of the available information technology and adaptation to new technological environments.

Contents

1. Introduction and Brief History


2. Setting European Integration in Motion (1957-1982)


3. Creation of the European Union (1982-1993)


4. From Maastricht to Lisbon (1993-2007)


5. Post-Lisbon Challenges and Responses (2007-2019)


6. European Union in the 2020s and Beyond (2019-)


7. Geoeconomics and the EU's Global Role



Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Seminars 16.66 0.666 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Autonomous Study 77 3.08
Tutorials 2 0.08 1, 2, 5, 26
Lectures 33.34 1.334 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Essays 15 0.6 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26

The course is based on lectures that present the historical development of European integration alongside the economic tools needed to analyse it; the content of these lectures forms the basis of the two written exams. Active learning is built into the course through three further activities: an essay involving empirical analysis of economic data, an oral presentation of an academic paper with discussion of its broader topic, and a peer-led discussion in which students prepare questions and engage with the presenting group. Some sessions are dedicated to the use of AI tools for collecting, processing, and presenting data.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Midterm 25% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Discussion questions and engagement 10% 1 0.04 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Essay (Empirical Analysis) 20% 1 0.04 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Presentation (Academic Paper) 20% 1 0.04 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Final Exam 25% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26

The course is assessed through continuous assessment, comprising an Essay (Empirical Analysis, 20%), a presentation of an academic paper with discussion of the broader topic (20%), discussion questions and engagement (10%), a midterm exam (25%), and a final exam (25%). The exams and the essay are recoverable; the presentation and the discussion activity are not. Single assessment is also available, consisting of an Essay (Empirical Analysis, 30%) and a written exam (70%) on a single date.

Erasmus and exchange students who request to advance an exam must present a document from their home university justifying their request.

Recovery: In those cases in which the subject is suspended with a grade higher than 3.5 and taken tests equivalent to two-thirds of their grade, you can opt for a make-up test on a date determined by the Faculty. Under no circumstances may students participate in make-up activities to improve their grade.

The student will receive the grade of \"Not assessable\" as long as he has not delivered more than 1/3 of the assessment activities.

Plagiarism: In the event that the student commits any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instituted. In the event that several irregularities occur in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.

This subject allows the use of AI technologies as an integral part of the submitted work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection.The student must clearly (i) identify which parts have been generated using AI technology; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and final outcome of the activity.

Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.

Bibliography

-Pomfret, Richard (2021). The Economic Integration of Europe. Harvard University Press.

-Baldwin, Richard & Wyplosz, Charles (2022). The Economics of European Integration, 7th Edition.

McGraw Hill.

Software

The empirical work in this course relies on collecting, processing, and presenting economic data with the assistance of AI tools. Students may use any programming language or environment they are comfortable with (for example, Python, R, or Stata); no specific software is required. What matters is not the choice of tool but the ability to interact effectively with a large language model (LLM) to obtain, clean, analyse, and visualise data correctly. In-class sessions will provide guidance on good practices for interaction with LLMs for data collection, manipulation and presentation.

In addition, for the Essay (Empirical Analysis), students must submit the full dialogues held with the AI tool that are relevant to the assessed work, together with a precise and concise declaration of what the AI was used for at each stage (for example, data retrieval, cleaning, analysis, or visualisation).

Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 50 English first semester afternoon
(PAUL) Classroom practices 50 English first semester morning-mixed