Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding
The student learns the compatibility and interactions of the economic system with the environment, especially with regards to the use of common resources, sustainable development and the major environmental problems that the world is currently facing.
Applying knowledge and understanding
Acquisition of basic microeconomic and macroeconomic tools for studying the complex relationship between the economy and the environment.
Acquiring the tools that are required to understand and elaborate the main environmental statistics;
Acquiring the tools that are required to assess the impact of environmental policies in the short, in the medium and in the long run;
Making judgements
Developing the necessary skills to assess the results of environmental economic studies and the actions taken by policymakers;
Communication skills
Developing the necessary skills to explain critically the results of environmental and energy economic studies as well as the scenarios described by economic and environmental statistics both to experts and non-experts in this field;
Learning ability
Developing the necessary skills to briefly explain complex issues by means of charts and analytical formulae.
Prerequisites
Basic tools of microeconomics and macroeconomics.
Course unit content
The aim of this course is to study the complex nexus between the economy and the environment by means of a rigorous and critical approach.
A particular attention is put on real-world policies, and on big environmental problems involving energy, climate change, greening the economy and agricultures.
Specifically, it focuses on the following topics:
1. Changing Perspectives on the Environment
2. Resources, Environment, and Economic Development
3. The Theory of Environmental Externalities
4. Common Property Resources and Public Goods
5. National income and environmental accounting
6. Energy: The Great Transition
7. Global Climate Change - Science and Economics
8. Global Climate Change - Policy Responses
9. Agriculture, food and the environment
10. World trade and the environment
11. Policies for Sustainable Development
Full programme
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Bibliography
Harris, J. M., & Roach, B. (2021). Environmental and natural resource economics: A contemporary approach. Routledge, 5th edition.
Chapters: 1, 2, 3 (and Appendix), 4, 10 (Sections 10.1-10.5 and Appendix), 11, 12 (Section “Balancing costs and benefits of climate actions” is excluded), 13, 14, 16.
Slides on all course topics are available on Elly for the whole academic year. Supplementary stuffs (also in term of short recorded video-lessons ) on some specific topics are also available on Elly.
Teaching methods
Knowledge acquisition: lectures
Acquisition of the skill to apply the methodologies of economic analysis: exercises
Acquisition of the autonomy of judgment: lectures and exercises
Acquisition of learning skills: lectures and exercises present problematic situations and stimulate students to focus their attention not only on the functioning of economic systems, but also on its interaction with the environment. Therefore, numerical examples, representing a simplified description of the main theoretical models, are proposed to the students. They thus constitutes an opportunity to solve some of the typical problem in environmental economics such as the determination of the equilibrium of an economy and the definitions of the effects of economic policies on it.
Acquisition of technical language: during the course the meaning of the terms commonly used in environmental economics will be discussed. The lessons will favor dialogic confrontation with the classroom aimed at favoring the critical discussion of the topics examined, also by using graphs. During the exercises the student will be exposed to collections of exercises designed to develop the ability to apply to practical problems the theoretical knowledge discussed during the lessons. The guidelines for the solution of different exercises will be provided and the autonomous resolution by students, possibly grouped in small groups, will be encouraged. In a second moment the exercise will solved by the instructor.
Non-attending students should check the teaching stuff and the instructions provided by the lecturer through the Elly platform.
The lecturer is available during her office hours for students to clarify the lessons and exercises.
Assessment methods and criteria
Written exam.
Knowledge and learning ability will be tested by 5 short-answer questions.
The skills in applying knowledge will be tested by a numerical exercise and with a graphical analysis (among those studied during the course).
Judgement and learning abilities will be tested by a long-answer question which requires a wide and in depth argumentation.
The ability to properly communicate by means of technical language will be evaluated through the analysis of the language used to answer this question.
Each correct answer to the 5 short-answer questions is worth 1 point. There is no penalty for wrong or missing answers. The maximum score for this section is 5 points.
The numerical exercise and the long-answer question are worth 10 points each. The analysis of a graph (among those studied in class) allows to obtain a score of 6 points.
In order to pass the exam the student must obtain 18 point out of 30 Honors are awarded to students whose exam obtains a full mark , i.e. a score of 31 points out of 30.
The exam lasts 90 minutes. It is not possible to consult any kinds of educational staff, with the only exception of the calculator.
Each students receives his/her grade by email from the Segreteria Studenti within the two weeks following the exam. The online registration for the exam is mandatory.
There is a final exam at the end of the course. The test consists of an exercise (10 points), an open question (11 points) and the student can choose whether to answer the 5 short questions or to discuss a graphical analysis (10 points). The exam lasts 60 minutes. The result can only be recorded in the next exam session (i.e. 05/25/23).
There is no midterm exam during the course.
Other information
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