Lesson 7: European Union and Sovereign Debt
February 7, 2019
Review:
- Exam 1 corrections
- World War II
- 20th Century Europe
Presentation:
- European Union
- Established formally in 1993 under the Maastricht Treaty
- Political and Economic union with 28 current member states
- Internal market enabling free movement of people, goods, services and capital
- Monetary union with common currency: Euro (€)
- EU vs US Economy
- European Union (EU) Explained (6 min)
- Sovereign Debt Crisis
- Catalyst was the 2008 US Mortgage/Financial Crisis
- Explained in The Big Short (recommended), Too Big to Fail, and Inside Job
- Or…here’s a short version (warning: Rated R for language)
- Some EU countries were extended easy credit and borrowed too much
- Crisis highlighted a weakness in the EU
- centralized monetary policy, but decentralized fiscal policy
- European Debt Crisis Documentary (Wall Street Journal, 23 min)
- Catalyst was the 2008 US Mortgage/Financial Crisis
- State of the European Union
- Interview w George Friedman (3 min)
Assignment:
- Read Europe’s Era of Harmony is Over by George Friedman of Geopolitical Futures
- Watch these videos on “Grexit” and “Brexit”
- Understanding the Financial Crisis in Greece (7 min)
- Brexit Briefly (7 min)
