Syllabus

The module introduces to some of the most current key issues of European Union (EU) both from a theoretical and applied perspective. In particular, it will analyse the growth and convergence/divergence among European regional economies, the design and the effectiveness of European Regional Policy, the coordination, and competition of fiscal policies, and finally, the effect of internal and external migration.

Detailed Syllabus

1. Theoretical models for the analysis of growth and con(di)vergence among European regions
2. Econometric models for con(di)vergence using both parametric and non-parametric techniques
3. Regional policies: theoretical models
4. EU Regional Policy: history and funding mechanism
5. Quantitative evaluation of EU Regional Policy: spatial econometric models and casual inference (counterfctual analysis, regression discontinuity design and propensity score)Economic background of taxation in EU: types of taxes, taxation system, and their implications in terms of labour mobility, spatial location of activities, and household residential decisions
6. Analysis of the geographical mobility within and across EU countries and its potential for reducing regional disparities

Prerequisites for the course:

Students should be familiar with macroeconomics and with intermediate level econometrics