24 OCTOBER — From the economic growth after the Second World War to the current economic recession, in European integration economics and politics have been strictly connected. Two lectures, to be held on Friday, 1 November and Saturday, 2 November will analyse the trends, challenges and consequences of this relation in the past decades as well as in the current situation.
On November 1 Professor Javier Alfonso-Gil from Autonomous University of Madrid will give a brief introduction about where, when and, tentatively, why modern world growth began and then focus on the long run analysis of growth and integration that took place there after the Second World War.
In his open lecture “Economic Growth and Integration of Europe”, the relationship between economics and politics in the EU during that period will be discussed, paying special attention to the arrival of the EMU (European Monetary Union), and to the real and potential perils of the asymmetry between a unified Monetary Policy versus a divergent Fiscal Policy.
The main issue, prof. Alfonso-Gil will argue, is that if the divergence grows, then the future of the Euro and the EU itself could be put at risk.
On November 2, Professor Antonio Vazquez-Barquero from Autonomous University of Madrid will analyse the financial and business causes which explain the economic crisis, identifying under which conditions economic recovery and structural change can take place, and the policy implications of this process.
Prof Vazquez-Barquero will also discuss the effects of the changing economic and financial geography on economic growth and recovery, focusing on the role played by emerging countries in the European economic recovery.
The activity is part of the course in European Studies given in collaboration between the European University Centre, the School of Government and the Centre for European Studies at Peking University, with lecturers coming from Peking University, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Autonomous University of Madrid, Lund University, University College Dublin and University College London.
1 November, Peking University, Leo KoGuan Building, room 515, 15:10-18:00
2 November, Peking University, Leo KoGuan Building, room 515, 13:10-16:00
The events are open to the public.
The next open lecture will be on Friday, 15 November, with Prof. Margaret Kelleher from University College Dublin analyzing “The Status of the Humanities in Contemporary Europe: Challenges and Opportunities”.
Prof. Javier Alfonso-Gil is professor at the Department of Economics at Autonomous University of Madrid. His main research fields cover regional and industrial economics, economic development, evolutionary economics and endogenous development.
Prof. Antonio Vazquez-Barquero, professor of Economics at Autonomous University of Madrid, is specialised in economic development. His main field of research are space organization of production systems, economics of innovation and politics of territorial development. He has been Visiting Fellow at Yale University, part of international organisations such as the EU and OCDE and a consultant for ONU and local governments in Spain, France, Greece and Colombia.
European University Centre at Peking University (EUCPU)
Room 204, Wei-Li Building, Tan Siu Lin Centre for International Studies
Peking University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100871
Tel: +86(0)10 6275 5387
Email: euc2009@pku.edu.cn
Website: www.lu.se/pkueuc
