Environmental Economics

The fate of the environment is inextricably linked to economic conditions. With rare exceptions, nation states emphasise economic growth over environmental considerations such as ecological sustainability, and air and water quality. Attempts to correct environmental damage via public policy have been met with considerable resistance. This course is designed to give you the skills necessary to articulately engage in this debate. You will learn key economic concepts, including the role economic ideology plays in environmental policy, how economists measure (or fail to measure) economic impacts on the environment, and how pro-environmental public policy might affect economic activities.

COURSE JUSTIFICATION/RATIONALE

The need for local and global economic response to environmental damage, including from governments, industry, individuals and non-government organisations

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

Provide a sufficient understanding of economic thinking so as to critically evaluate environmental issues and provide policy recommendations to improve related problems

Apply the basic economic theory to issues involving the joint interaction of economic activity, the environment, and use of natural resources including valuing environment to introduce market based instruments and economic policies for environmental management.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

A student completing the course is expected to:

Outline concepts of willingness to pay, public goods, property rights, market and non-market valuation techniques

Explain why optimal pollution levels, suggest policies within the cost benefit analysis framework

Appreciate the economics of exhaustible resources and renewable resources