Identify and analyze the major issues that divide those in favour of the Britain’s leaving the European Union and those who
oppose it. Who do you expect to be the major gainers and losers? Be sure to explain why you see them as gaining or losing,
using economic reasoning. You should suggest which of these gains and losses you think are likely to be most important.
The essay should be a maximum of 2,000 words for the main body (including within-text references) of the essay (not including
contents page, footnotes, executive summary, bibliography or appendices) and should be handed in by 2.00pm Saturday 21th
November 2015. You will be able to collect your coursework mark by the end of the last week of classes before the Christmas
break at the latest (18 Dec 2015).
Word counts must be stated and over-length essays will be penalised by 3 marks for every 100 words the submission is over-
length (i.e. a essay 101 words over-length attracts a penalty of 4 marks). There is no “margin of error”, 2000 is the
maximum. In addition poor presentation, inadequate bibliography and referencing and late submission without good cause will
all attract standard penalties as set out in the Undergraduate Handbook. Where you require an extension, valid grounds are
explained in the Undergraduate Handbook and you must obtain the relevant form from the Student Support Office and return it
at most 48 hours in advance of the deadline. Where you are unable to complete either coursework or exam or you feel your
performance has been affected by mitigating circumstances you must obtain a claim form from the Student Support Office and
return it with appropriate evidence. Full details on the mitigating circumstances procedure can be found in the Undergraduate
Handbook.
Wikipedia is not an acceptable source of reference and citing Wikipedia will attract a penalty of 5 marks.
Your essay will be assessed according to the following criteria:
1. Understanding of the topic.
Proper use of theoretical ideas to guide the analysis. Correct use of terminology. Ability to explain ideas and events.
Ability to compare and contrast different opinions. Evidence of an informed decision about what areas to concentrate on in
the essay and which are the key arguments.
2. Depth of analysis and evidence.
Ability to go beyond mere description and build a reasoned case. Quantity and quality of evidence underpinning major
points/conclusions. Ability to identify and assess the effects on different areas of importance to Britain like trade,
financial flows, migration, education, productivity etc,.
3. Writing and communication skills.
Logical sequence to the essay. Proper introduction and conclusion. Clear tables, diagrams and referencing. Good use of
English and fluent style. Ability to argue to reasoned conclusions.
It is important that you familiarize yourself with the Management School’s generic marking descriptors for both coursework
and exam in the Undergraduate Student Handbook. There are three things we would strongly emphasize if you want to get 2:1
grades or better:
• Answer the question – it is very important to keep your answer well-focussed
• Show evidence of wider reading – the exam is not a memory test, so if you can’t remember exact names or dates for articles
you will still get credit
• Analyse, don’t just describe. In both coursework and exam you will get credit for using relevant economic theory,
particularly if there is a key diagram or key result (which may be a formula or algebraic expression). You will also get
credit for pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of particular methods or schools of thought. Finally, evaluate. You need
to come to a reasoned conclusion, backed up by argument and evidence.
This advice is quite general for your third year work. You will get credit for showing a constructively critical view of your
subject matter and for an appreciation that there is a lot we do not know and/or do not know for sure. Being able to make
well argued evaluations of debates in area of uncertainty is a key attribute of the good graduate.
*Please use the powerpoint and lecture notes from week 1-6, reading sources and journals as the academic references and
research based for this essay.
*Core reading
The core textbook for the course is Gerber, J. (2013) International Economics. 6th Edition. Pearson. This is a very clearly
written textbook with very good coverage of contemporary topics.
Additional Reading
Under each topic in the lecture programme, you will see recommendations for key journal articles to read. Some of these
articles have very technical material in them. Do not be put off. You can glean a great deal from these articles by focussing
on the material in the introduction and discussion/conclusions. Use your lecture notes as a guide. You will not be expected
to produce anything more technical in your essay or exam than what we have done in lecture or tutorial. The course is about
issues, ideas and evidence. There is a relatively small number of key diagrams which contain a core of relevant theory which
is needed to understand the central issues in International Economic Relations. The most important articles are in bold type
and we will discuss some of these in tutorial.
In addition to the core text, there are two other textbooks which you may look at for additional reading. Again they are very
clearly written and go just a little deeper than Gerber and are thus a little more difficult. Both have many up to date
examples to show the real world relevance of the key issues and theory covered.
Pugel, T.A. (2012) International Economics. 15th Edition. McGraw-Hill. Superbly written with very good intuitive explanations
to support the key theory.
Salvatore, D. (2012) Introduction to International Economics. 3rd Edition. Wiley. Another very well written book.