EM 305: The Economics of Environmental Management

Unit 1 Seminar

Let’s do this!!!

Syllabus

• Let’s take a look…• Any questions?

Introduction

• Environmental economics: What does that mean?– Environmental economics is the application of the

principles of economics to the study of how environmental resources are managed.

• But say more…

Environmental Resources

• Air• Land• Water• What else?

How can we encourage environmental stewardship?

• Incentives– What are incentives?– What are some examples?– Do these really work?

• Anything else?

How do you design effective environmental policy?

• Do you put the environment above all else?• Do you balance environment with other things

(e.g. economy)?• How do you calculate the costs and benefits of

your proposed policies?• Who decides what the costs and benefits are?• What about lobbying?• Who can we trust?

Globalization & Sustainability

• The world’s getting bigger.– More people, more demand for resources

• China, India, and other developing nations– Huge increases in demand for resources, energy,

and electricity

• Should we be concerned?– If so, what should we do?

The Economy & The Environment

• Tradeoff?– Must we try to help one at the expense of the

other?– If so, which one prevails?– If not, how do we balance the two?

• Who should decide?

But what about costs/benefits that we can’t easily quantify?

• Pollution– Clean air/water– Dirty air/water– How do you account for these, when you calculate

costs and benefits? How do you put a value/price on clean or dirty air and water?

• Anything else hard to quantify?

Unit 1 To-Do List

• 1. Introductions: Tell us a little about who you are • 2. Read in your eTextbook: Chapters 1 & 2 • 3. Discussion (25 points): Trade-offs • 4. Seminar (15 points): Economic policies &

models • 5. Key Terms • 6. Summary• 7. Quiz• 8. Have a great week!!!