Economics Workshops
    
Course content may vary one week to another depending upon the availability of PECT rooms.
Evaluation: 20% oral presentation, 30% participation and exercises, 50% written exam paper

Student Group 2, Student Group 6
Teacher
David Rees Secretary Karine Choi Course director Amanar Akhabbar,
Syllabus, Course Content, Policy Paper Subjects

“Taxation is not just about raising revenue; it is a tool for structuring society and reducing inequality.” (Thomas Piketty 2014)

“Fair and efficient taxation is not only a matter of justice but a foundation for sustainable growth and social peace” (European Commission, 2024)




Documents

Presentations and films
Lesson 1.

Wednesday 14 January
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 

Introduction
Fiscal Policy questionnaire





Welcome

Fiscal Policy questionnaire answers

Prepare your choices of Policy Paper


Project overview

Website resources

Lesson 2.

Wednesday 21 January
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 

Inequality


Overthrow. Stephen Kinzer
The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman. John Perkins

- geopolitical control - military, debt, trade
- fuel market. Market vs Trading
You sow what you reap


Group 3 - finish questionnaire answers and project overview  

Prepare your choices of Policy Paper
Numbers

Group 2, Subgroup 1
How does US military action in Venezuela, including the control of oil exports, influence the global price of oil in the short and medium term?

Fiscal policy and inequality - an overview

Wealth distribution exercise (Slide 2 only)

Lesson 3.
Wednesday 28 January
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 

Basic Macroeconomics and Different Taxes
China Balance of Trade
Trade balance solution from Keynes
US / China exchange rates
US / EU exchange rates

Greenland Rare Earths
Rare earth sources
Geopolical control of the Arctic
Stephen Kinzer on Greenland

Overthrow. Stephen Kinzer
The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman. John Perkins
- geopolitical control - military, debt, trade
- fuel market. Market vs Trading
You sow what you reap
US Wealth Distribution. Politizane. 7m
French Wealth Distribution

Group 3 Subgroup
2
How does China’s strong import-export performance affect the global economy?
Group 2 Subgroup 2
What does Donald Trump’s interest in Greenland reveal about how major powers view strategic territories today?

Macro - budget and IR

Reading
Oxfam - the top 1%

Lesson 4.

Wednesday 4 February
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 

Growth

Growth and GDPpc comparison

World HDI scores

Growth. Add https://www.ouest-france.fr/leditiondusoir/2024-05-10/voici-l-histoire-tragique-de-l-ile-de-nauru-le-pays-qui-s-est-mange-lui-meme-f2f8da6b-dfbf-47cf-8987-28a12d9f7277
to Growth PPT
Growth (with Green GDP and HDI)
Robert F. Kennedy speech on GDP (3m)
200 years of history - wealth and health (BBC)


Lesson 5.

Wednesday 11 February
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 

Elasticity


Elasticity

Group Quiz

Add https://www.ouest-france.fr/leditiondusoir/2024-05-10/voici-l-histoire-tragique-de-l-ile-de-nauru-le-pays-qui-s-est-mange-lui-meme-f2f8da6b-dfbf-47cf-8987-28a12d9f7277
Group 3 Subgroup 3
  1. How does the revenue of citizen impact the employment market ?
  2. Why is Trump increasing tariffs on foreign countries, what is his interest in doing so, and is it good for the American economy?

Group 2 Subgroup 3
Robert F. Kennedy speech on GDP (3m)
200 years of history - wealth and health (BBC)


Lesson 6.

Friday 13 February

Group 2. 13h15-15h15
Group 3. 10h15-12h15
Room 








Finish Elasticity

Group 3 Subgroup 4
1. How is the 2026 US monetary policy shift reshaping the global economic landscape?
2. Will AI-driven productivity gains narrow or widen the global economic development gap?
3. How do persistent geopolitical tensions disrupt short-term global trade stability?

Group 2 Subgroup 4
What can you expect about the aboudabi' negociation between US, ukraine and russia, wich aims to end the war ?
Would it be a good idea for the US to intervene in iran ?

French Fiscal Policy



Lesson 7.

Wednesday 18 February

Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 13h15-15h15
Room 




Group 3 Subgroup 5

Greenland Rare Earths
Rare earth sources
Geopolical control of the Arctic
Stephen Kinzer on Greenland
Overthrow. Stephen Kinzer
The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman. John Perkins
- geopolitical control - military, debt, trade
You sow what you reap

Group 2 Subgroup 5










 
French Political Crisis

Group 3 Subgroup 5

  • Why Donald Trump is so interested about Greenland ?
  • Do you think the minimum salary is a good idea in France and Worldwide ?
  • What do you think are the impacts of the new president of the FED ? 

Group 2 Subgroup 5
      Elasticity MCQ
Lesson 8.

Wednesday 25 February
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room



An overview of different taxes

State transfers

Exercise.
Choose 5 countries (including your own) fro around the world. Include countries from Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa.

Make a chart (on paper or on your computer) and find the following data for each country:

Gini score
Tax Revenue to GDP (Tax Burden)
HDI score
Top 10%
Top 1%

Linking data
Is there a link among the different data for a country?
Share your findings with your research group.




Group 3 Subgroup 6
  1. Greenland. Why is Greenland strategically important to the United States, and how would Denmark and its European allies likely respond to increased U.S. military or political pressure in the region?
  2. Federal Reserve independence – Powell – Trump – interest rates. How does the independence of the Federal Reserve influence U.S. monetary policy decisions, particularly during periods of political pressure from the executive branch?

Group 2 Subgroup 6
  1. Why has China adopted an interventionist stance in the civil war in Myanmar (Burma) following the 2021 coup d’état?
  2. Why is Morocco interested in Western Sahara, and how does it strengthen its influence over this territory?





Individual Project Research

The Multiplier effect
The Multiplier effect with MPS and MPC




Three academic articles (see lesson 4).
Data in images (graphs / tables - site source)
Data research - source - referencing - bibliography
Lesson 9.

Wednesday 4 March
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 




Fiscal Policy links

Purchasing Power Parity (ppp)
World inequality in ppp






Midterm test preparation
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) (DR)




Lesson 10

Wednesday 11 March
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 


ChatGPT

Minimum three academic articles (use Google Scholar)

Research sources
Tax Foundation
World Inequality Lab
Our World in Data (3,666 charts across 297 topics)
Life expectancy (useful for tobacco and alcohol research)
United Nations data (world comparisons for economic, social and environmental indicators)
World Bank data base (Browse by Country or Indicator)
IMF Data (Mostly economic. Useful data and research on Fiscal Policy)
Eurostat (European statistics from the European Commission)
Index Mundi (Country statistics and charts)
Trading Economics Indicators (mostly macroeconomic indicators)
Global Issues ((Social, Economic, Political and Environmental issues)
CIA World Factbook (go to 'Library)
Eurobarometer (opinions of EU citizens)
EU public data (Health data)
European data (European University Institute. Data resources for research on Europe)

Specific topics - go to 'Links' on this website

Political and Research discussions, news and debates
and 

Finding research articles
Google Scholar
JSTOR (access via ESSCA login) (search journals, books and primary sources)
Science Direct (Scientific, technical and medical research)
Emerald Insight (from Emerald publishing)
Sage Journals
CAIRN Info (academic data base in French)
Wiley Online Library
Clarivate
(newspapers, videos, primary sources)



Group 3 Subgroup 7
  1. Could the escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States slow global economic growth or create a new inflation shock?
  2. How could the current conflict between Iran and the United States affect global energy prices and inflation?

Group 2 Subgroup 7
1. How is Colombia’s current geopolitical positioning influenced by the growing strategic competition between the United States and China in Latin America?  
3. To what extent do internal political instability and security challenges in countries such as Colombia affect regional integration and foreign investment in Latin America?

Taxes and Duties Group MCQ

Project overview
Research  project preparation


Lesson 11

Wednesday 18 March
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 

Mid-term test and Academic Writing

Taxes and Duties MCQ answers

ChatGPT create account
What to do? "Write an essay"

See ChatGPT example

See AI ESSCA check

Quillbot
Quillbot example


Scribbr
AI. Claude
AI. Manus
Google AI Studio

The Multiplier Effect linked to the Marginal Propensity to Consume and Save
The Mulitplier Effect linked to national goods and imported goods

The Mulitplier Effect and Fiscal Policy
The Multiplier effect for your research project - 2 dimensions: 1.  reduced taxes provides more consumer spending (NB MPC). Increased taxes provide more money for government investment (on what?)


Group 3 Subgroup 8
  • what do you think about the évolution of the climat change ? 
  • What is your personnal path ? 
  • what do you mean by "proposals" in the subject EU DUTIES and TRADE BALANCE ?

Group 2 Subgroup 8.

What is your opinion on the conflict between Donald Trump and Iran?
Why has the Mercosur agreement been suspended?
The United States is increasing pressure on China, while the new Korean government is considering improving relations with China to stimulate economic growth. How do you assess this situation ?


Academic writing guidelines 
Academic writing example
Academic writing exercise (evaluated). Single-page exercise in UK English with 2 references, 2 footnotes, 1 quotation and a bibliography. Send in pdf to Mr Rees by Tuesday 18 November.

Economic theory in the Policy Paper. See 'content' for the module.
Use of economic concepts in your policy paper


Lesson 12

Wednesday 25 March
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room Gounouf

PESTEL analysis
MCQ mid-term test

PESTEL analysis can be used to foresee the PESTEL effects / consequences of putting into action any new policy - in our case - Fiscal Policy.

PESTEL analysis of your fiscal proposals

Group 3 Subgroup 1

  1. In what ways has Donald Trump's policy toward Venezuela influenced the country's political landscape and international relations in 2026? 
  2. In what way does the Ukrainian conflict affect the European economy ? 
  3. Is American protectionism an effective response to Chinese competition ? 

Mid-term test Group 2 answers

Mid-term test Group 3 answers
Midterm test marks
Wine for the winners
Mid-term scoring sheet
Exam evaluation grid

Comments on presentations

Example of a PESTEL analysis on tobacco duty (DR. pdf)
Orals - reminder of what is wanted.


Lesson 13

Wednesday 1 April
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 



Crashes and Crises

The Wall Street Crash

The 2000 dot.com bubble

The next crash - Virtual currency and AI.

The New Deal



Academic writing results
Academic writing - comments
   mail text
   Name
   Footnotes
   Referencing - to bibliography
   English
   Images
   Links
   pdf
   Alphabetical bibliography
   Bibliography protocol
   Quotation - to Bibliography

Presentations - Slides + Speaking

Orals - explanation
Orals practice in groups

Lesson 14

Wednesday 8 April
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 

Orals
Oral Presentations (evaluated)
A two-minute presentation by each student without PowerPoint etc.


Lesson 15

Wednesday 15 April
Group 2. 10h15-12h15
Group 3. 08h00-10h00
Room 

Crashes and Crises
Policy Paper preparation

Course evaluation Dr Rees
Course valuation ESSCA


Policy Paper Guidelines
Academic writing guidelines 

 
Exam

Policy Paper written from home. To be sent by Wednesday 29 April

Preparation for a resit exam