Aims

The course aims at illustrating environmental problems from an economic perspective. After having completed the course, the students should

- understand the possibilities and limitations of the market economy as concerns natural resource and environmental economics

- be able to account for different methods for evaluating the environment

- be able to account for different ways of weighing environmental goals against other welfare goals and be able to account for the concept of cost efficiency

- be able to account for different policy instruments and their application

- have insights into possibilities for voluntary solutions to international environmental problems

- be able to apply the economic theory of the environment to actual environmental problems  local, regional as well as global ones

Content

The course deals with why environmental problems emerge from an economic perspective. Further, environmental goals are studied in relation to other goals in society: what does the optimal "welfare mix" look like? The course deals with when and how economic policy instruments can be used to obtain more efficient economizing and how environmental goods that do not have any price on a market can be evaluated. Simple game theory is used to investigate the possibilities for international agreements on environmental improvement. The course deals with how stipulated environmental goals can be achieved in the least expensive way, so-called cost efficiency analysis. Furthermore, the relation between economic growth and persistent development is studied.

Instruction

The instruction consists of lectures, seminars (compulsory) and exercises (compulsory).

Assessment

The examination consists of a written exam, seminar assignments and exercises. A pass on the course requires a pass on the exam, a pass on seminar assignments and exercises and active participation in seminars and arithmetical exercises. The grades are Pass with Distinction, Pass or Fail.