Specific questions as follow:
Choosing 2 questions out of the following 9. (Word limit 950 – 1050)
1. Is economic patriotism ‘the very foundation of a vision for Europe’ as the French politician Dominique de Villepin put it? Distinguish economic patriotism from economic nationalism and discuss for one country if its policy stances in European integration are patriotic or nationalistic.
2. Was the expansion of the welfare state during the Golden Age of growth a reason why it was so golden or was welfare expansion in the post-WWII era a ‘tax’ on the economy worth paying to buy working class support for the restitution of capitalist democracies? If you think the first of these two arguments is correct, why, then, was the welfare state thoroughly restructured in the last three decades? If you think the second argument is correct, what is the political and economic basis for the welfare state today, now that capitalist democracies are firmly entrenched?
3. ‘The design of the “single-currency project” was so influenced by ideology that it failed not only in its economic ambition, bringing prosperity, but also in its ambition of bringing countries closer together politically’. Discuss.
4. ‘Despite the many Eurozone governance reforms of recent years, the euro can still not be considered robust because the reforms have tried to compensate for the absence of trust between participating countries.’ Discuss.
5. ‘Democratic back-sliding in and outside of Europe, a financial system that is still too large, and depressed growth — in light of these challenges, it is actually an achievement that the EU can still forge broad political-economic coalitions around major institutional reforms.’ Discuss.
6. The conventional wisdom in political economy and economics on inflation and disinflation is that domestic institutions (central banks, governments and wage setters) are crucial in determining inflationary outcomes. An alternative view, however, suggests that inflation fell since the 1980s in Europe (and the OECD more widely) because China and other low-cost producers entered the global economy. Evaluate both views and their implications for the political economy of inflation.
7. ‘The most important contribution of the post-war welfare state was the introduction of social policies that mitigated income loss as a result of, among other things, unemployment, old age, illness, or family reasons. From that point of view, social investment policies are a step back, because they primarily help citizens enter the (labour) market rather than cover the risks associated with a loss of income because of lack of employment.’ Discuss.
8. ‘In the prosperous years preceding the crisis, a policy approach and support coalition developed. Then came crisis, challenging both policy and coalition. Crisis opened the system of relationships, making politics and policy more fluid. Finally resolution was reached, closing the system for a while, until the next crisis.’ Gourevitch (1986: 21-2). While this approach has advanced our understanding of the crises until the 1970’s, is it applicable to contemporary events such as management of the Euro crisis and beyond?
9. ‘More “Social Europe” remains essential to offset the effects of the deepening of the Single Market, since the latter leads to sharper social and fiscal competition. Yet, social policy remains in national hands despite the fact that the delegation of monetary policy and supranational fiscal rules would make it impossible to go back to a Keynesian full employment policy at national level’. Discuss.