ECN 371 - syllabus.html 2017

ecn371 - Environmental economics

Schedule

Syllabus

Exercises

Exams

Notes

Case studies

Links

Syllabus (2017)

Course hours and important dates
Course objectives, prerequisites and other matters
Course credits (points) and grading
Course literature
Course responsible

Course Home page

Course hours and important dates

Course Hours: Mondays 10:15-12.00 (U 303), Wednesdays 08:15-10:00 (U 303).

First lecture: Wednesday February 1, 2017 at 08:15-10:00

Last lecture: Monday May 8, 2017 (+ an extra Q&A lecture, date to be decided)

Case studies (dates found in the schedule): These will entail reading selected articles on the topic, oral presentations on the insight of these articles, and possibly adding own insights pertaining to the issue

Exam: Wednesday May 24, 09.00-12.00 (format: 3 hours written, A1: no calculator, no books or notes). Date for exam confirmed for the spring term 2017.

Course objectives, prerequisites, and other matters

The course aims at studying interlinkages between economic choices and their impacts on nature and the environment, and how various policies affect choices and hence impacts. This implies that students are expected to aquire a comprehensive insight into environmental and resource economic topics, their theoretical foundation, their limitations and practical relevance. The course will mostly concentrate on the theory, practical use and limitations of environmental policy instruments. The course is taught in English if at least one studen ask for this. Lecture materials and the WEB site will be in English.

The course consists of lectures, voluntary exercises, and three mandatory case studies where students work in small groups (3-4 students). To be allowed to take the exam, one must have participated in all the case studies in a satisfactory manner.

Additonal information on the course setting.

Desired prior knowledge: One semester of economics at the MSc level, covering the topics of the following courses:

ECN 302 Mathematics for economists (5 points, August block, opens in new window),
ECN 311 Microeconomics (10 points, fall term, opens in new window), and
ECN 312 Industrial organizationn (10 points, fall term, opens in new window).

Recommended courses outside the NMBU School of Economics and Business:

EDS 234 Environmental economics - the role of institutions (5 credits - opens in new window). Recommended for: Students wanting a wider exposure to economics.

Students who want to take this course without formal economics training at the MSc lever are adviced to read up on microeconomics, and possess strong quantitative and analytical skills.

Student points, grading and exam format

Course credits: 10 points

The grade is decided upon the following criteria:

3 hours written final exam (100 %)
A1: no calculator, no other aiding tools
pass on participation in case studies to be allowed to take the final exam

Exams are offered twice a year (towards the end of the spring term and continuation around Christmas/New Year).

Course literature

Compendium with selected readings from articles etc.
Additional reading materials and resources (see Links)

A detailed overview of reading materials are found here (same as for 2016 - is listed as the 2016 edition).

The compendium can be bought at Boksmia (Landbruksbokhandelen) at the start of the course.

Course responsible and main lecturers

Eirik Romstad has his PhD from Oregon State University (1990). His PhD thesis was on tradable emission permits. Recent work includes follow ups on the economics of biological diversity and auctions, dynamic optimality when statics matters, agricultural policy and policy modeling, partly through the EU FP7 project PRIMA (opens in a new window), and Seamless Association, multiple pollutants (joint work with former PhD student Kennet Løvold Rødseth.

More information can be found on my home page (opens in a new window).

Course Home page