• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Environmental Economics

Module description

This module will introduce you to the fundamental insights and methods of environmental and resource economics. The module will explore a wide range of environmental problems including pollution, waste, climate change, over-fishing and the depletion of natural resource stocks. In each case, students will learn about the economic drivers of the environmentally damaging behaviour. Moreover, you will be shown how those insights can be used to suggest solutions to environmental problems based on the adoption of policies or treaties crafted with the careful application of economic reasoning.  

Module aims - intentions of the module

• Provide you with the microeconomic tools needed to analyse fundamental contemporary questions concerning environmental economics.
• Help you to understand contemporary issues in environmental economics and public policy concerning industrial pollution, climate change and resource extraction.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. recognise the ways in which individual decisions, market forces and government policies can affect the natural environment;
• 2. engage with the core debates in social choice theory and assess their relevance to the design of environmental policy;
• 3. design and evaluate public policies for the regulation of environmental pollution and natural resource depletion;
• 4. use game theory to analyse international pollution problems and assess the merits of treaties designed to address them;
• 5. apply the techniques of social cost-benefit analysis, including those of non-market valuation, to the appraisal of projects and policies.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 6. interpret relevant data and empirical findings;
• 7. assess appropriate policies for various economic and social problems.

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 8. demonstrate awareness of the role of numerical evidence in economics;
• 9. conduct a critical assessment of policy debates, theoretical models and empirical evidence;
• 10. demonstrate written communication skill.

Syllabus plan

Indicative content includes:

• Social Choice Theory
• Markets, Property Rights and Market Failure
• Regulation of Environmental Pollution
• Global Environmental Issues and Climate Change
• Measuring Environmental Costs and Benefits
• Economic Growth and Environmental Quality
• Optimal Resource Extraction

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

Basic reading:

• Perman, R. et al. (2011), Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, Addison Wesley; 4 edition.
• Kolstad, C.D. (2011): Environmental Economics. 2nd edition. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

A full reading list will be available on the module’s ELE page. Examples of relevant papers include:

• Morey, E. R. (2018)"What are the ethics of welfare economics? And, are welfare economists utilitarians?". International Review of Economics 65.2: 201-230.
• Bateman, I.J., Harwood, A.R., Mace, G.M., Watson, R.T., Abson, D.J., Andrews, B., Binner, A., Crowe, A., Day, B.H., Dugdale, S. and Fezzi, C., (2013). Bringing ecosystem services into economic decision-making: land use in the United Kingdom. Science, 341(6141), pp.45-50.
• Sandler, T., (2017). Environmental cooperation: contrasting international environmental agreements. Oxford Economic Papers, 69(2), pp.345-364.
• Miller, S.J. and Deacon, R.T., (2017). Protecting marine ecosystems: Regulation versus market incentives. Marine Resource Economics, 32(1), pp.83-107
• Sioshansi, F. and Webb, J., (2019). Transitioning from conventional to electric vehicles: The effect of cost and environmental drivers on peak oil demand. Economic Analysis and Policy, 61, pp.7-15.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Key words search

Environmental Economics, Natural Resource Economics