OVERVIEW

The course introduces the main concepts and tools of environmental economics, with the aim of analysing the relationships between economic activities, the use of natural resources, environmental quality and sustainable development. The course examines environmental problems as forms of market failure and analyses the role of public intervention, environmental policy instruments and collective decision-making processes in resource management and pollution control.

Particular attention is devoted to the economic analysis of renewable and non-renewable resources, the assessment of environmental costs and benefits, economic and fiscal instruments for environmental protection, and the criteria of sustainability, equity and efficiency in public and private decision-making.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The general training objective is the knowledge and understanding of reference methodologies for the analysis of phenomena related to environmental degradation and externalities, the use of natural resources and their interactions with the functioning of the economy, and the process of economic growth and development. To this end, a further learning objective is the knowledge and understanding of reference methodologies for the application of economic and political evaluation processes for environmental change.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with a theoretical and applied framework for understanding how economics can contribute to the analysis of environmental problems and to the design of policies oriented towards sustainability.

By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret the main market failures related to the environment, analyse the role of externalities, evaluate environmental policy instruments and understand the economic, distributive and intergenerational implications of public and private environmental decisions.

Knowledge and Understanding

By the end of the course, students will have acquired basic knowledge of the main concepts of environmental economics and natural resource economics. In particular, they will understand the relationships between resource scarcity, efficient allocation, environmental externalities, market failures, public intervention and sustainable development.

Students will also be able to understand the role of natural capital in economic processes, the criteria for managing renewable and non-renewable resources, and the main economic instruments used for environmental protection and pollution control.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding

Students will be able to apply the concepts acquired during the course to the analysis of concrete environmental problems, assessing the role of public policies and economic instruments in regulating the behaviour of firms, consumers and institutions.

They will also be able to compare alternative environmental policy instruments, such as environmental taxation, subsidies, regulatory standards, tradable permits, environmental certificates and voluntary instruments, evaluating their effects in terms of efficiency, equity, sustainability and the distribution of costs and benefits.

Making Judgements

By the end of the course, students will have developed critical skills in interpreting public and private environmental decisions. They will be able to independently assess the main economic, social and distributive effects of environmental policies, also with reference to intergenerational equity and the relationships between countries with different levels of development.

Communication Skills

Students will acquire the basic technical language of environmental economics and will be able to communicate clearly the main economic-environmental issues, policy instruments and results of economic analyses to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, including public institutions, firms, environmental organisations and citizens.

Learning Skills

The course will contribute to the development of autonomous learning skills, enabling students to further explore the main topics of environmental economics, sustainability and the economic evaluation of public policies, including in the professional contexts in which they may operate.

PREREQUISITES

No previous knowledge of economics is required. The course is designed as an introduction to the basic economic concepts needed to analyse environmental problems, the use of natural resources, market failures and environmental policy instruments.

A basic understanding of the main environmental issues and of the general concepts of sustainability, consistent with the Bachelor’s Degree programme in Environmental Sciences, may be useful.

TEACHING METHODS

The teaching method includes lectures, seminars, case studies, exercises to be carried out at home and/or in the classroom, and teamwork.

information on organizational aspects (live and/or online teaching) and updates due to changes in the health and epidemiological situation will be given on the AulaWeb platform.

"Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Sara Ferrando (sara.ferrando@unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.”

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The topics covered include:

1. Foundations of Environmental Economics

Scarcity, efficient allocation of resources, optimisation and market failures. The environment, public goods, externalities and the role of public intervention.

2. Economics of Natural Resources

Non-renewable resources and intertemporal models of optimal extraction. Renewable resources, regeneration capacity, substitutability of natural capital and limits to growth.

3. Pollution and Environmental Policy Instruments

Environmental externalities, the optimal level of pollution, regulatory instruments, economic and fiscal instruments for environmental control: environmental taxes, subsidies, standards, tradable permits and environmental certificates.

4. Sustainable Development and Equity

Weak and strong sustainability, natural capital, intergenerational equity, green economy, bioeconomy, circular economy and circular processes of value creation.

5. Economic Valuation of the Environment

Extension of cost-benefit analysis to environmental issues, evaluation of social costs and benefits, monetary valuation techniques for non-market goods and ecosystem services.

The methodologies considered include hedonic pricing, contingent valuation and choice experiments.

6. Collective Decision-Making and Evaluation of Environmental Policies

Economic analysis of collective choices, environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, multicriteria analysis, non-market techniques and deliberative approaches for defining operational criteria of environmental sustainability.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

R.K. Turner, D.W. Pearce, I. Bateman, Environmental Economics, 2003, Il Mulino, Bologna.

The reference book can be integrated with the slides used to support the lessons and made available at the Aulaweb at the beginning of the lessons.

All students must periodically consult the course's page on the AulaWeb e-learning portal (accessible from the University website or at: http://www.aulaweb.unige.it/). All information and additional materials relating to this course are published exclusively on this site.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

BARBARA CAVALLETTI (President)

MATTEO CORSI (President Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

For lessons start and timetable go to the link: https://easyacademy.unige.it/portalestudenti/

Please check the module Aulaweb page for timetable updates dependent on the sanitary and epidemic situation.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination consists of a written test made up of open-ended questions and numerical exercises. Each answer is awarded a maximum score of 5/30 or 10/30, depending on the type and complexity of the question or exercise. The examination is passed with a minimum score of 18/30.

The lecturer reserves the right to require a subsequent oral examination in cases where there are doubts or reservations regarding the overall assessment of the written test.

There are no limitations on the number of examination sessions in which students may participate.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The assessment of the expected learning outcomes is carried out through a written examination consisting of open-ended questions. The examination is designed to assess students’ knowledge of the main concepts of environmental economics, their ability to apply them to the analysis of concrete problems, their autonomy of judgement and their appropriate use of the technical language of the discipline.

The questions require students to discuss and critically evaluate environmental policy instruments and measures, also with reference to current issues such as climate change, renewable energy, circular economy, green economy, biodiversity and the environmental sustainability of economic development, considering both efficiency and equity aspects.

The assessment criteria include the correctness and completeness of the contents, clarity of exposition, critical argumentation skills, the possible use of graphical representations or analytical formalisation, and command of the technical language.