Environmental Economics and Policy
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
This course provides an introduction to the principles of environmental economics, with a focus on policy applications. The principal problem in any economics course is how to best allocate scarce resources. This holds true for environmental economics as well. However, environmental resources differ from other goods that economists study in that there is usually no market for them. Thus, government policies are needed to maintain and improve environmental quality. To appreciate the above aspects the fundamental concepts of Microeconomics necessary to understand the functioning of the economic system, the behavior of its agents, the market mechanism, the benefits of the exchange, as well as the cases where markets fail will be provided.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student will have familiarized her/himself with the fundamental concepts of Microeconomic theory necessary to understand the functioning of the economic system, the behavior of its agents, the market mechanism, the benefits of the exchange, as well as the cases where markets fail. These concepts are instrumental to the comprehension of environmental policies and of the environmental sustainability of economic systems. The student will therefore have acquired competence on the fundamentals of economic analysis of environmental problems and on the objectives and instruments of pollution control policies.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Specific indications for the delivery of lectures and practicals in the academic year 2022/2023 will be given in the next months, according to the evolution of the sanitary situation.
Course syllabus
The course will provide an overview to some of the main issues in environmental economics with a devoted focus to policy issues.
1. Economy-environment interdependence (Vona)
2. Sustainable development (Vona)
3. The environmental Kuznets curve and the natural resource curse (Vona)
4. Social efficiency (Gobbi)
5. Market failures, externalities and environmental degradation (Gobbi)
6. Coase Theorem (Gobbi)
7. Taxes and standards (Gobbi)
8. Emission permits and subsidies (Gobbi)
9. Applied lecture: the coal market game (Gobbi)
10. Irreversibility and uncertainty (Vona)
11. Management of common resources (Vona)
12. Applied lecture: the public good game (Vona)
1. Economy-environment interdependence (Vona)
2. Sustainable development (Vona)
3. The environmental Kuznets curve and the natural resource curse (Vona)
4. Social efficiency (Gobbi)
5. Market failures, externalities and environmental degradation (Gobbi)
6. Coase Theorem (Gobbi)
7. Taxes and standards (Gobbi)
8. Emission permits and subsidies (Gobbi)
9. Applied lecture: the coal market game (Gobbi)
10. Irreversibility and uncertainty (Vona)
11. Management of common resources (Vona)
12. Applied lecture: the public good game (Vona)
Prerequisites for admission
none
Teaching methods
Teaching activity is based upon lectures, tutorials with solutions of numerical exercises and class presentation/discussion of group assignements
Teaching Resources
Slides, Core economics (https://www.core-econ.org/), Perman, R., Ma, Y., McGilvray, J. and Common, M., 2003. Natural resource and environmental economics. Pearson Education.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Written exam (70%)
Continuous evaluation, including students' presentations (30%)
Continuous evaluation, including students' presentations (30%)
SECS-P/01 - ECONOMICS - University credits: 8
Lessons: 64 hours
Professors:
Gobbi Alessandro Pietro, Vona Francesco
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
please contact me to make an appointment
via Celoria 2, first floor