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Environmental Economics and Sustainability

Module description

This is a module about the economics of sustainability and the links between the environment and the economy designed to be accessible to all undergraduate students with an interest in sustainability. We will apply economic principles to answer questions about 1) how to allocate scarce resources across individuals and through time, 2) what sustainability means, and 3) how to assess our progress toward sustainable development. Exposure to economics or public policy will allow us to focus on tackling environmental and resource management problems in the real world.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to equip you with the economic skillset to assess policies through the lens of sustainability. By the end of the module, you should be able to differentiate between normative and positive criteria, apply the fundamentals of welfare and growth economics (including the notion of inclusive wealth) to the theory of sustainable development, understand what macroeconomic indicators like GDP do and do not capture, and interrogate the use of the term “sustainable” in business and policy contexts. Finally, you will engage with primary data to assess the sustainability of a country or region.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Interrogate whether headline economic indicators comport with notions of sustainability.
• 2. Analyse economic growth by engaging with current scholarship in inclusive/comprehensive wealth theory.
• 3. Apply economic principles to identify resource allocation problems and identify potential solutions.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Recognize the differences between normative and positive analyses of contemporary global issues.
• 5. Discuss intertemporal and interpersonal comparisons implicit in sustainability decision-making contexts.
• 6. Engage with the primary literature to relate the fundamentals of economic growth and welfare to the challenges of sustainability.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Marshal appropriate data across disciplinary boundaries to make evidence-based assessments of the sustainability of a country, region or business.

Syllabus plan

• Normative and positive analysis
• Welfare economics (Welfare theorems, Coase Theorem)
• Defining sustainability (Weak vs Strong)
• Comprehensive and Inclusive wealth; the productive asset base
• National accounts, Sustainability in Practice, Informing Action

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you have been deferred for any assessment you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be expected to submit the relevant assessment. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Matson, P., Clark, W. C., & Andersson, K. (2016). Pursuing Sustainability. Princeton University Press.
• Coyle, D. (2015). GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History. Princeton University Press.
• Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., Fitoussi, J., (2010). Mis-measuring our lives: Why GDP doesn’t add up. The New Press.
• Keohane, N. and Olmstead, S. (2007). Markets and the Environment. Island Press.

Selected readings from the primary literature e.g.

• Banzhaf, S., Ma, L., Timmins, C. (2019). “Environmental justice: The economics of race, place, and pollution”. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 33, 185-208
• Coase, R. (1960) “The Problem of Social Cost.” The Journal of Law and Economics.)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE
• OECD Better Life Index http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#/11111111111

Key words search

Sustainability, environment, economics, resource management