Italian Economy Within The European Union

Center:

Rome

Program(s):

Rome - Study Rome: Language & Area Studies [1]

Discipline(s):

Economics

Course code:

EC 341

Terms offered:

Fall

Spring

Credits:

Language of instruction:

English

Instructor:

Efisio Espa

Description:

The course focuses on the behavior of the Italian economy within the context of European Union. Emphasis is on macroeconomic policies designed at EU level and their interplay with domestic policies. Special attention will be paid to the wider framework of the international economy – especially in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 economic recession - and the challenges to national economic policies coming from globalization and increased worldwide competition due to emerging countries such as China and India. The present structure and the performance of the Italian economic system will be seen throughout the course in comparison with the other largest EU countries and, whenever significant, with the US economy.

Prerequisites:

Macroeconomics.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of the course students will be able to:
 understand the macroeconomic behavior of a country like Italy within the constraints and opportunities given by a tightly integrated and enlarging economic area such as the EU;
 know in more detail the way macroeconomic policies are conducted at EU level;
 assess the role of national independent economic policies in a framework of higher market competition and increased relevance of supranational institutions.

Method of presentation:

Lectures, seminar discussions, student presentations.

Required work and form of assessment:

Participation (20%); midterm exam (20%); student presentation (30%); final exam (30%).

content:

Section I (4 lectures):
The economic performance of Italy and EU, 1990-2007 (3 h.)
The European Single Market (1 ½ h.)
Italy and the economic integration of Europe (1 ½ h.)

Section II (4 lectures):
European Monetary Union (1 ½ h.)
The monetary policy of the European Central Bank (1 ½ h.)
Exchange rate and inflation targeting (1 ½ h.)
Euro’s exchange rate and inflation at Italian and European level (1 ½ h.)

Section III (5 lectures) :
The Maastricht Treaty and the Stability and Growth Pact (3 h.)
Public Finance in EU and EMU countries (1 ½ h.)
The measurement of the Italian public deficit and debt (1 ½ h.)
The sustainability of the Italian public debt (1 ½ h.)

Section IV (4 lectures) :
The Italian position within global competitiveness patterns (3 h.)
EU foreign trade policies (1 ½ h.)
The structure and evolution of Italian foreign trade (1 ½ h.)

Section V (5 lectures):
The role of foreign direct investment (1 ½ h.)
Europe and Italy as attractors of FDI (1 ½ h.)
Europe and Southern Italy (1 ½ h.)
The macroeconomic convergence of the Italian economy (3 h.)

Required readings:

Blanchard, O., Giavazzi, F. and A. Amighini, Macroeconomics. A European Perspective, Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2010, chapters nn. 1-4, 14, 19-20.

Banca d’Italia, Annual Report, current year (latest issue published in May 2011); available at
http://www.bancaditalia.it/ [2]

Banca d’Italia, Economic Bulletin, latest issue published in July 2011, available at
http://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/ [3]