Course: International Business: a European Perspective (2019)

International Business: a European Perspective (2019)

Professors

Judith Clifton

Daniel Díaz Fuentes

José Manuel Alonso

Department of Economy

This course combines one weekly lecture and seminar to ground students in the theories and practices of international Business from a European perspective.

It includes a study visit to a EU Multinational Corporation in the region, giving students get face-to-face contact with industry representatives.
We also invite Guest Speakers to talk about the challenges of international business in different EU and non-EU contexts.
Rather than following a US perspective, the course puts Europe at its centre, as a source and host of International Business (trade or investment).
Parts 1 to 3 provide the fundamental theoretical concepts and empirical knowledge that students need to acquire to successfully analyse International Business.
Part 4 applies this knowledge through an exploration of EU businesses in the world.
The seminars apply the concepts learnt in the theory using different methodologies, including critical reading, class-based discussion of texts and data and direct contact with the business community through a study trip.

The course has been redesigned as part of the Jean Monnet Chair awarded to the UC: https://www.proyectojeanmonneteu.unican.es/.

Keywords

International Business, Europe, European Union, Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, Services, Goods, Regulation.

Course Details

Course Information

Course title: International Business: a European Perspective
Code: G1815
Department / Unit: Department of Economics
Degree / Master’s: Business and Economics Diploma
Faculty: Faculty of Economics and Business
ECTS credits: 6
Language of instruction: English
Instructors: Judith Clifton, Daniel Díaz Fuentes, José Manuel Alonso

Course structure

Topic 1. Europe in the Global Economy.

Topic 2. Europe and Global Trade: Patterns, Theories, Policies and Strategies.
Topic 3. Regional and Multilateral Trade: Integration or Disintegration?
Topic 4. Foreign Exchange Markets.
Topic 5. International and Regional Institutions and their rules: The European Union and the World Trade Organization.
Topic 6. Foreign Direct Investment and Multinational Corporations.
Topic 7. Study trip to Multinational Corporation.
Topic 8. European Multinational Corporations in the Global Economy.
Topic 9. Guest lecture by representative of a leading EU Multinational.
Topic 10. Creating Multinationals: The role of policy.
Topic 11. The coming of age of the energy and water multinationals: How do public MNCs behave abroad?
Topic 12. Emerging Country Multinational Corporations in Europe.

Readings

Course Textbook

International Business: competing in the global market place, Charles Hill, McGraw-Hill. 2014.

Texts for class discussion

Clifton, J., Díaz-Fuentes, D., & Revuelta, J. (2010). The political economy of telecoms and electricity internationalization in the single market. Journal of European Public Policy, 17(7), 988-1006, DOI: 10.1080/13501763.2010.499229
Clifton, J., Fuentes, D. D., & Warner, M. (2016). The loss of public values when public shareholders go abroad. Utilities Policy, 40, 134-143. doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2015.11.003.
Clifton, J., & Díaz-Fuentes, D. (2011). The European Union, southern multinationals and the question of the ‘strategic industries’. In The Emergence of Southern Multinationals (pp. 226-241). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Clifton, J., & Díaz-Fuentes, D. (2010). Is the European Union ready for foreign direct investment from emerging markets?. In Foreign Direct Investments from Emerging Markets (pp. 335-358). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Alonso, J. M., Clifton, J., Díaz-Fuentes, D., Fernández-Gutiérrez, M., & Revuelta, J. (2013). The race for international markets: were privatized telecommunications incumbents more successful than their public counterparts?. International Review of Applied Economics, 27(2), 215-236.

Other relevant texts

International Economics: Theory and Policy. Pearson Addison Wesley; 2014. Paul Krugman y M. Obstfeld (10th Edition)
Clifton, J., Comín, F., & Diaz Fuentes, D. (2006). Privatizing public enterprises in the European Union 1960–2002: ideological, pragmatic, inevitable?. Journal of European Public Policy, 13(5), 736-756.
Clifton, J., Comín, F., Díaz-Fuentes, D.,. (2007). Transforming public enterprise in Europe and North America. Palgrave.

Lecture Notes

Introduction

LN-F-001. Topic 1. Europe in the Global Economy.
LN-F-002. Topic 2. Europe and Global Trade: Patterns, Theories, Policies and Strategies.
LN-F-003. Topic 3. Regional and Multilateral Trade: Integration or Disintegration?
LN-F-004. Topic 4. Foreign Exchange Markets.
LN-F-005. Topic 5. International and Regional Institutions and their rules: The European Union and the World Trade Organization.
LN-F-006. Topic 6. Foreign Direct Investment and Multinational Corporations.
Topic 7. Study trip to Multinational Corporation.
LN-F-007. Topic 8. European Multinational Corporations in the Global Economy.
Topic 9. Guest lecture by representative of a leading EU Multinational.
LN-F-008. Topic 10. Creating Multinationals: The role of policy.
LN-F-009. Topic 11. The coming of age of the energy and water multinationals: How do public MNCs behave abroad?
LN-F-010. Topic 12. Emerging Country Multinational Corporations in Europe.