Ecological Economics

ENV-610

This file is part of the content downloaded from Ecological Economics.
Course summary

The course will be hybrid: broadcast through Zoom and recorded, but participation will be much easier in class (CO121)

Tentative program (updated May 1):

  1. Introduction to ecological economics: The economy as a sub-system of the global environment: entropy, carrying capacity, environmental services, ecological crises, natural capital, sustainability (PT, March 10)

  2. Introduction to market economics: willingness to pay, preferences, marginalism, demand, supply, markets, prices, elasticities, non-market goods, externalities (PT, March 17)

  3. Markets with external costs: correcting non-efficient production level with all a variety of environmental policy instruments (PT, March 24)

  4. Optimal abatement level, optimal allocation of abatement, policy instruments (PT, March 31)

  5. Assessing environmental goods and external costs (PT, April 7)

  6. Discounting future impacts under uncertainty (PT, April 14)

  7. External cost abatement: environmental policy instruments, example of the US Clean Air Act (MV, April 28)

  8. How to think of Ecological Economics, Foundations, and Implications (SN, May 5)

  9. Decoupling, IPAT and Kaya, green growth or degrowth, sufficiency and quality of life (GB, May 12)

  10. Final exam (May 19)

PT = Philippe Thalmann, MV = Marc Vielle, SN = Sascha Nick, GB = Gino Baudry








Easter break





Final exam in the regular classroom at 1.30.

Closed book exam, but one A4 sheet, handwritten or printed on both sides, is allowed.
We will not ask you for specific numbers or details. You should expect short questions and problems based on the material seen in class. I could, for instance, tell you that the price of a good increased by 10% and the quantity sold decreased by 5% and ask you to calculate the elasticity of demand.