ENR-21806 Environmental Economics in Practice

Course

Credits 6.00

Teaching methodContact hours
Individual Paper2
Lecture10
Tutorial14
Independent study0
Course coordinator(s)dr. ir. RA Groeneveld
Lecturer(s)dr. ir. RA Groeneveld
dr. X Zhu
Examiner(s)dr. X Zhu
dr. ir. RA Groeneveld

Language of instruction:

Dutch and/or English

Assumed knowledge on:

Environmental Economics for Environmental Sciences; or Environmental Economics and Policy.

Continuation courses:

BSc Thesis; Advanced Environmental Economics and Policy.

Contents:

This course deals with a selection of current issues in environmental economic policy from both a theoretical and a practical point of view. Students will get insight into the role of environmental economics in the development of environmental policies, and write a literature review on a topic of their own choice. We will focus on four current affairs in the environmental debate, each of which is dealt with in a lecture on the economic theory of the topic and in a guest lecture given by experts from government institutions, research institutes, private consultancies, or NGOs. The topics and guest lecturers vary year by year.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- explain for a selection of the most important environmental problems what economic mechanisms underlie these problems;
- compare the effectiveness and efficiency of the most widely used policy instruments in these issues, according to economic theory as well as in their practical application;
- explain the different steps in a cost-benefit analysis and its role in environmental policy;
- write a literature review on an environmental-economic topic of their own choice.

Activities:

The course features lectures and a literature review. Each of the four policy issues will be discussed in one instruction lecture and one guest lecture. Participation in the guest lectures is compulsory. The students are expected to participate proactively in the discussion following the presentation by the guest lecturer. There will be an instruction lecture on cost-benefit analysis. The literature review should give a brief overview of the economic and environmental aspects of a topic of the student's own choice. This could be one of the four topics discussed in the guest lectures, but students are free to choose another topic. The literature review will be discussed in three tutorials where students can compare each other's review and get feedback from the lecturers.

Examination:

- literature review (50%);
- written exam with open exams (50%).
Both components require a minimum of 5.50 to pass.

Literature:

Literature for this course will consist of selected reports and scientific articles on the topics discussed in the guest lectures.
The literature, or the references to the literature, will be provided through Blackboard.

ProgrammePhaseSpecializationPeriod
Restricted Optional for: BEBEconomics and GovernanceBSc6MO