EPN-V2

ØASØK4200 Environmental Economics Course description

Course name in Norwegian
Environmental Economics
Weight
10.0 ECTS
Year of study
2021/2022
Course history
Curriculum
FALL 2021
Schedule
  • Introduction

    Economic activities impact the environment. Plastics end up in the ocean, producing one T-shirt consumes thousands of liters of water, and salmon farmers pour toxic chemicals into the seas to fight lice infestations. Economists see the natural world around them as providing environmental goods and services that we all enjoy, such as a lake to swim in, drinking water, or a forest that filters the air. Pollution to an economist is an unintended byproduct of activities that are otherwise desirable, like flying to New York, assembling computers, or eating dinner.

    This course teaches students to think like economists about a wide range of environmental problems, from small, local ones to the biggest one of them all, climate change. Students learn about the economics of environmental regulation. We can try to reduce pollution in many ways: by providing information, `nudging´ people to `do the right thing´, subsidizing clean technologies, taxing emissions, creating cap-and-trade markets, banning substances, or signing up to international environmental agreements. The students learn how pollution crossing borders complicates the picture, and how trading goods affects where - and how much - pollution takes place. They will consider what taxing pollution means for other parts of the economy, and they will think about how green technologies are developed.

  • Recommended preliminary courses

    ØASØK4100 Microeconomics

  • Required preliminary courses

    Følgende arbeidskrav må være innfridd av studenten og resultatet godkjent før eksamen i pedagogikk kan avlegges:

    • Minimum 80% oppmøte til obligatorisk undervisning i emnet.
    • Presentasjon og drøfting av forhåndsinnlevert, skriftlig prosjektoppgave i grupper (3-5 studenter pr gruppe).
  • Learning outcomes

    Individuell eksamen i form av en audiovisuell presentasjon på 10-15 minutter som er digitalt tilgjengelig.

    Eksamen kan påklages.

  • Content

    • Basics: Externalities, public goods, Pareto efficiency, market failure, optimal pollution.
    • Static pollution (local air pollution)
    • Environmental regulation with economic instruments (taxes, subsidies, cap-and-trade)
    • Dynamic pollution (climate change)
    • International environmental agreements
    • Trade in goods and pollution
    • Green innovation
    • Green taxes and the double dividend
    • Behavioral environmental economics

  • Teaching and learning methods

    Alle hjelpemidler er tillatt så lenge regler for kildehenvisning følges. Eksamen leveres digitalt med tilhørende lenker til audiovisuelt materiale på egnet tilgjengelig plattform. Det er studentens ansvar at lenkene til materiale er tilgjengelig for sensor i hele sensureringsperioden, og er gjengitt med tillatelse.

  • Course requirements

    Gradert skala A-F.

  • Assessment

    To interne sensorer. Ekstern sensor brukes jevnlig.

  • Permitted exam materials and equipment

    Anbefalt gjennomført og bestått Pedagogikk 1

  • Grading scale

    Grading scale A - F.

  • Examiners

    An internal and an external examiner will grade the exam. A selection of at least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded to exam papers assessed by the external and internal examiner will be used to determine the level of all exam papers.

  • Course contact person

    Svenn Jensen