Course description – Content (could change)
- 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)
- Introduction to market economics: willingness to pay, preferences, marginalism, demand, supply, markets, prices, elasticities, non-market goods, externalities (PT, March 17)
- Introduction to cost-benefit analysis (CBA), Assessment of environmental impacts and valuation of natural resources (PT, March 24)
- Long-term discounting incl. hyperbolic discounting and limited substitutability of natural capital, planetary boundaries vs. CBA (FV, March 31)
- Uncertainty and irreversibility, prospect theory, economics of innovation (FV, April 7)
- Green growth or degrowth? Sufficiency and quality of life (PT, April 14)
- Environmental policy instruments: voluntary approaches, regulation, economic instruments, example of the US Clean Air Act (MV, April 28)
- How to think of Ecological Economics, Foundations, and Implications (SN, May 5)
- Environmental policy-making: acceptance of environmental policies, co-operation and retaliation, course wrap-up (MV or PT, May 12)
- Final exam (May 19)
- Professor: Philippe Thalmann
- Professor: Marc Vielle
- Professor: Frank Vöhringer
- Teacher: Gino Baudry
- Teacher: Sascha Nick
