ECON 260 - INTRODUCTION TO
ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE
ECONOMICS

This is a sample COURSE OUTLINE and is not updated.

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Week 1 INTRODUCTION

NEOCLASSICAL ECONOMICS

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS

ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS

SCIENCE AND ECONOMICS

Read: Harris,  Ch.1

THE ROLE OF ETHICS

Positivism and Subjectivity

Aldo Leopld & the Land Ethic

Spirituality: Creation and Stewardship

Spirituality: the Sanctity of Life

Read: Optional - Daly & Townsend,

Ch. 8: The Age of Plenty: A Christian View, E.F. Schumacher

Ch. 9: Buddhist economics, E.F. Schumacher

Ch. 11 (226-227 only): Ecology, Ethics, and Theology, John Cobb

WEEK 2 METHODOLOGY

MICROECONOMICS AND MODELING

LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS AND MATERIALS BALANCE

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Introduction & Ch. 1

Recommended - Daly & Townsend
                  Ch.3: The Entropy Law and the Economic Problem

                Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen

Optional - Daly & Townsend,

  Ch.16: The Economics of the Coming Space Ship Earth

Kenneth E. Boulding

Ch.17: Spaceship Earth Revisited

Kenneth E. Boulding

WEEK 3 ECONOMICS of the ENVIRONMENT

EXTERNALITIES AND POLLUTION

Read: Required - Turner, et al,

Ch. 5: How markets work and why they fail
Ch. 6: How governments fail the environment

WEEK 4 & 5 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: The Optimal Level of Pollution

IMPACT ANALYSIS: ENVIRONMENTAL & ECONOMIC

DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

COST-EFFECTIVENESS

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

DISCOUNTING FUTURE VALUE

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 7: Cost-benefit thinking

RISK ASSESSMENT

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 9: Coping with uncertainty

VALUATION OF NATURE

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 8: Valuing concern for nature

WEEK 6 PUBLIC POLICY INTERVENTION

PROPERTY RIGHTS - THE COASE THEOREM

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 10: Using the market to protect the environment

EMISSION CHARGES

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 11: Charging for use of the environment

GREEN TAXES

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 12: Green taxes

MARKETABLE PERMITS

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 13: Trading environmental permits

EFFLUENT STANDARDS

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 14: Setting environmental standards

WEEK 7 NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS

PUBLIC GOODS AND THE "TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS"

Read: Recommended - Daly & Townsend

Ch 6: The Tragedy of the Common, Garrett Hardin
Ch. 7: Second Thoughts on ÒThe Tragedy of the Commons, Garrett Hardin

THE OPTIMAL RATE OF HARVEST (THE OPTIMAL RATE OF EXTINCTION?)

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 15: Renewable resources

HOTELLING'S LAW

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 16: Non-renewable resources

WEEK 8 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

LIMITS TO GROWTH

Read: Required - Turner, et al,

Ch. 3: Economic growth, population growth and the environment

Recommended - Daly & Townsend,

Ch. 1: Why Isn't Everyone as Scared as We Are?

Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich

SUSTAINABILITY

THE PRECAUTION PRINCIPLE

Read: Required - Turner, et al, Ch. 4: Sustainable development

Recommended - Daly & Townsend, Ch. 14

WEEK 9 RESILIENCE

RESILIENCE

BIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABILITY

ECONOMIC STABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY & DIVERSITY

WEEK 10 TOPICS

GREEN BUSINESSES