Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this course, the successful student should, inter alia, be able to:

- Have an appreciation of the major themes in the academic literature on the economics of the environment.
- Understand the economic approach to analysing why environmental problems occur.
- Explain the economic instruments available to address local and global environmental challenges.
- Understand the interlinkages between the rapidly emerging carbon and climate sectors and traditional environmental economic theory and policy.
- Have an understanding of the economic policy tools available to assess the costs and benefits of action(s) or lack of action(s) to address environmental problems.
- Have an awareness of the importance of behavioural economics and behavioural science for environmental policy making.

Indicative Module Content:

- Introduction to Environmental Economics.
- Economic Analysis of Why Environmental Problems Occur.
- Justification for Intervention in a Market Economy.
- Environmental Policy Design.
- Economic Approaches to Policy and Project Evaluation.
- Behavioural Economics and Environmental Policy Design.

Student Effort Type	Hours
Lectures	24
Specified Learning Activities	10
Autonomous Student Learning	90
Total	124

Learning Recommendations:

Read an introductory environmental economics textbook and recall the materials from introductory microeconomics.

Incompatibles:
AERD30030 - Agri-Environmental Economics


 

Assessment Strategy  

Description	Timing		Component Scale		% of Final Grade
Assignment: Students produce a concept to provide essential information for the design of an environmental economic policy relying on environmental economic tools.	Varies over the Trimester	n/a	Graded	No	25
Multiple Choice Questionnaire: The multiple choice questionnaire contains questions on all lectures.	Week 12	n/a	Graded	No	25
Assignment: Students produce a policy-brief suggesting a solution to an environmental problem of their choice. The policy-brief highlights key concepts from the environmental economics literature.	Varies over the Trimester	n/a	Graded	No	50

 

Resit In	Terminal Exam
Spring	No

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

All lectures involve a discussion component which will allow participants to answer questions, present their views and discuss the material. This enables "real-time" feedback in the class on the course material. Verbal feedback will be provided in-class pre-assessment in the form of a Seminar where Groups will present their work, answer questions and discuss the material. Individual written feedback will be given post-assessment.

Keohane, M. N. O., & Olmstead, S. M. (2016). Markets and the Environment. Island Press. Chapters 1-5 and 8-10.

Hanley, N., Shogren, J., & White, B. (2019). Introduction to environmental economics. Oxford University Press. Chapters 1-5.

For basic economics concepts, lectures and readings will be complemented by videos. For example, the videos by Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok on https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-uRhZ_p-BM4XnKSe3BJa23-XKJs_k4KY (At least 1-11).

Atkinson, G., Braathen, N. A., Mourato, S., & Groom, B. (2018). Cost Benefits Analysis and the Environment: Further Developments and Policy Use. OECD.

Gifford, R. (2011). The dragons of inaction: psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation. American psychologist, 66(4), 290.

Carlsson, F., Gravert, C., Johansson-Stenman, O., & Kurz, V. (2019). Nudging as an environmental policy instrument. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2020.

Name	Role
Professor Peter Clinch	Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Autumn
Lecture	Offering 1	Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks	Thurs 14:00 - 15:50