EC3530: ECONOMICS OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT (2022-2023)

Last modified: 13 Jul 2022 16:50

Course Overview

One important issue in environmental economics is the control of externalities, where one firm’s or one individual’s actions affect other people. The course addresses this topic focusing on pollution and climate change as key examples. A second topic involves the study of exhaustible resource markets, including issues such as the determinants of the long run price of oil and the sustainable use of natural resources. Other issues related to energy and the management of common property resources such as fisheries may also be discussed.

The course is intended primarily for honours undergraduates in Economics.

Course Details

Study Type	Undergraduate	Level	3
Term	Second Term	Credit Points	30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus	Aberdeen	Sustained Study	No
Co-ordinators	Dr Agathe Rouaix

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

Either Programme Level 3 or Programme Level 4
Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)
EC2003 Intermediate Microeconomics (Passed)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

Course Description

This course covers both environmental economics and the economics of natural resources.

One of the main topics in environmental economics is the regulation of externalities or spillovers where one firm's or one individual's actions affect other people. The course addresses this topic focusing on pollution and climate change as key examples. A second major topic in environmental economics is the valuation of environmental amenities such as clean air or outdoor recreation. The course studies some of the major methods used by economists to assign a value to such resources.

One of the main topics of natural resource economics is the management of common property resources. The course studies this topic using fisheries as an important example. Investment is a key issue for the study of exhaustible resources, which necessarily involve tradeoffs over time. Fossil fuel which is extracted today is not available tomorrow. The course studies how economists model some of these investment issues, which has implications for such policy questions as the determinants of the long run price of oil and the sustainable use of natural resources.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers

Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt

2,000-word essay (40% each)

2-hour exam (60%)

Resit

2-hour exam (100%)

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge Level	Thinking Skill	Outcome
Factual	Remember	ILO’s for this course are available in the course guide.