Economics of Brexit SoSe 2020

Update re: Coronavirus / Digital Teaching

 This seminar will be offered via digital teaching due to the social distancing measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If you would like to enrol in this seminar, please follow the standard registration and enrolment procedure. Please note that your registration in the seminar is binding.

• Economics students should should complete the registration form (available in the Moodle room) and email the completed form to the lecturer.
• Spatial planning students should email the lecturer to enrol in seminars, as registration via LSF is now closed.

Students may self-enrol in the Moodle room. The course materials may not be available in the Moodle room before the first day of lectures. All announcements regarding the digital learning process will be made via the Moodle room. 

Course Description

In this seminar, students will engage with Brexit from a whole new perspective – their own. Students will represent selected EU countries (such as the UK, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain) and lead their own Brexit negotiations. As part of this seminar, students will investigate a country’s trade policy and the ways in which that country is tied to the British economy (i.e. economic/trade dependencies and surpluses) and defend that country’s perspective in Brexit debates.

The seminar will include several introductory lectures about the EU policy-making process with a special focus on international trade, including:

• Review of international trade theory: customs union, single market, etc.;
• Overview of various trade agreements between EU and other countries;
• Overview of the complex trade interdependencies between EU countries and UK; and
• Overview of the EU institutions and legal processes involved in the Brexit process (European Commission, MEPs, etc.).

As part of this seminar, students will be required to produce and present a policy document summarising their country’s policy position. Students representing the EU member states will debate their position with ‘the EU’ and decide on a common negotiation position to give the European Commission to negotiate with the UK. The UK and European Commission student representatives will submit final policy documents and have a plenary discussion over whether a compromise text can be found.

This seminar aims to build on students’ prior knowledge of international trade, factor market integration, tariff policy, and regional competition and industrial policy. Students will apply this knowledge to a practical, real-world example – Brexit. In this setting, students will:

• Gain a deeper understanding of complex trade interdependencies between EU and other countries;
• Learn about the economic framework of decision-making within the EU, particularly with respect to how EU trade policies are set within the EU and between EU and other countries;
• Explore the European Union’s legal framework and legislative process with respect to developing trade policies;
• Learn how to evaluate current economic policy debates by synthesizing country-specific trade policy and data and producing a policy report from that country’s perspective.