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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. 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 region and be able to make policy recommendations based on their assessment.

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 and propose solutions from the forefront of scholarship to fill gaps
• 2. Analyse economic growth through a detailed understanding of current scholarship in inclusive/comprehensive wealth theory
• 3. Apply economic principles to identify resource allocation problems and critically evaluate potential solutions for efficiency and equity.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 4. Apply normative and positive analysis to contemporary global issues.
• 5. Discuss intertemporal and interpersonal comparisons implicit in the full range of decision-making contexts
• 6. Draw on the primary literature to relate the fundamentals of economic growth and welfare in detail 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 recommendations to tackle sustainability goals.
• 8. Critically evaluate and challenge economic arguments related to resource allocation and sustainability

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)

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.

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

https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
OECD Better Life Index http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/#/11111111111

Key words search

Sustainability, environment, economics, resource management