In this course, students will focus on Europe as an economic area. The first part of the course will be dedicated to studying the economic area "Europe" in its different historical and institutional developments, with a focus on the European Union, the common market and the European monetary union. This includes considering not only Europe and European countries as a whole (also in contrast to other major political and economic actors such as the USA and China), but also specific business districts.
In the second part, students will study specific tools which can be used to analyse economic areas and apply them to specific European cases. The aim of the course is to enable students to perceive Europe as a both homogenous and heterogeneous economic area, depending on the analytical dimension considered, within which specific location decisions for different kinds of investments (green field/brownfield/foreign direct investments/...) can be made.
The analytical tools to be studied include macroeconomic indicators of international economic relations (e. g. balance of payments and exchange rates), and how they manifest themselves in Europe, as well as specific frameworks useful for studying economic areas (Michael Porters Diamond Model and Five Forces model). Overall, the course will allow students to conduct comparative analyses of different locations for investment decisions within Europe.
Active student participation is an integral part of the course, and students are expected to engage in discussions. Students will furthermore demonstrate their ability to apply the theoretical concepts in group presentations and in a short thesis to be submitted at the end of the course. |
