Learning objectives
Competences to be developed and expected outcomes
a) Knowledge and understanding : at the end of the course the student will have a thorough understanding of the EU institutions and the way they work, the problems related to the development of the territory, the regional policies of the European Union, the regional database of Eurostat.
b) Applying knowledge and understanding: the student at the end of the course will be able to design a research project on the topic of regional development, to collect, process and interpret regional statistcis, to make comparisons between different regions, to suggest projects of local development.
c) Making judgments: the student will be able to understand the issues related to the institutional functioning of the European Union and in particular the policies of the European Union in the field of economic development and social and territorial cohesion.
d) Communication skills: the student will be able to interact with all the institutional, economic and social actors that contribute in various ways to the development of the territory and of ts economic, social and territorial cohesion
e) Learning skills: the student will be able to manage databases, to produce and elaborate statistics, set up tables and graphs, using statistical software for the drafting of economic reports on local economies.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of economics
Course unit content
The content of the course is as follows:
- Institutions and policies of the European Union
- Economic and social disequilibria in the European Union
- Cohesion policy of the European Union
- Local economic development policies
- Cycle of a local development policy
- Design of a local development project
Full programme
Cohesion policies have been implemented in the European Union since 1988 to reduce the huge economic and social disparities at regional level. These policies have acquired importance over time to become the most important item in the European Union budget. The aim of the course is twofold. The first aim is to illustrate the rationale of these policies, the way in which these policies have been implemented, the projects realized, the results achieved, the problems left unsolved. This will be done through the analysis of the theories of agglomeration, of the official EU, national and regional planning documents, the main assessments of the evaluation units and some “best practice” projects.
The second aim of the course is to train students in the design of development projects at local level. Each student, under the supervision of the teacher, will be required to carry out an economic and social analysis of an identified area, to outline a local strategy of development for that area and to suggest few key projects. The content of the course in detail is as follows:
- Institutions and policies of the European Union
- Economic and social disequilibria in the European Union
- Cohesion policy of the European Union
- Local economic development policies
- Cycle of a local development policy
- Design of a local development project
Bibliography
Text books
Topic 1: History and Institutions of the European Union
1) Michelle Cini, Nieves Perez-Solorzano Borragan, European Union Politics, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17 and 18
2) Richard Baldwin and Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European integration, Mac Graw Hill, Third edition, Chapter 13
As an alternative to the book by Michelle Cini and others, students may use the book by Ian Bache, Stephen George and Simon Bulmer, Oxford University Press, 2011, chapters from 5 to 23 included.
These three books are available in the Department library
Topic 2: Cohesion policy
The Barca Report contains the most important elements of theoretical debate on cohesion policy. You should study:
From the main report:
1. An Agenda for a reformed cohesion policy- A place based approach to meeting European Union challenges and expectations by Fabrizio Barca from pag.1 to pag. 59
From the annexes:
2. Cohesion policy in the E.U.: growth, geography, and institutions, by Farole-Pose-Storper
3. The turning points of E.U. cohesion policy, by Manzella and Mendez
4. Towards a territorial social agenda for the European Union, by Fabrizio Barca
Very useful summaries of the debate are contained in:
5. What do you really know about European cohesion policy, by Dirk Ahner
6. The case for regional development intervention: place –based versus place-neutral approaches by Barca, Mc Cann and Pose
For a criticism to the place based approach look at this contribution by a member of the World Bank
7. Improving regional development policies, by Indermit Gill
You can find all these texts in the item "didactic material" (materiali didattici)of this web site
Topic 3: European growth strategy
1) Europe 2020- A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, Communication from the Commission, 2010
This is the official document by the Commission on European growth strategy
Topic 4: The architecture of cohesion policy
The simplest way to study how the cohesion policy works is to look at the European Union web site in the policy area of “regional policy.
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/indexes/what_we_do_en.cfm
Chapter 13 by Baldwin (see above) can complement your knowledge of the topic
Finally, you can also use the slides and the notes on the lecturer’s web site,
Teaching methods
Lectures: 35 hours of which 10 of case studies
Computer lab: 10 hours
Study groups: 30 hours of which 20 of students' presentations and 10 of tutorials
Assessment methods and criteria
The final assessment will be based on a written exam on the theoretical and institutional part of the course, on the drafting of a report on a local economy and on its presentation in the classroom
Knowledge and understanding will be evaluated in the written exam where at least four open questions will be proposed on the issues of the working of European institutions, of regional development and of European cohesion policies. This will contribute for 50% of the final mark
Capacity of applying knowledge and of making autonomous judgments will be evaluated in the report on a regional economy. This will contribute for 30% of the final mark.
Communication skills will be evaluated in the presentation of the report in the classroom. This will contribute for 20% of the final mark.
Other information
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