LFU:online

Course Goal: Enable students to reflect critically on the economic dimension of environmental problems and their solutions. Understand the role of institutions in modifying incentives to solve environmental problems.

Learning outcomes (competences)

• Understand the mutual interrelation of economic activity and stocks of natural resources. This includes how extraction of natural resources for economic production reduces the size of stocks as well as how changing sizes of stocks affect economic production possibilities.
• Understand the dynamic nature of pollution emissions and stocks of natural resources.
• Defend and justify articulated arguments regarding environmental problems and policy alternatives.
• Develop research reports on the economic aspects of environmental problems.

Topic 1:  The efficient and optimal use of natural resources.

Topic 2:  The theory of optimal resource extraction for non-renewable resources.

Topic 3:  Stock pollution problems.

Topic 4:  Renewable resources.

Lectures, exercises, reading groups

Written exam, exercises in class

Perman et al. (2011) Natural Resource and Environmental Economics. 4^th Edition. Pearson. Chapters 14-17