Course Description - APEC 5560

This course is neatly divided into two general topic areas – one dealing with the management of natural resources, the other dealing with solving environmental pollution (or “externality”) problems. After a rather lengthy introduction to the basics of each of these areas (i.e. the basics in terms of how economic analysis can be applied to resource management, pollution problems, valuation of the environment, and sustainable development), we spend the remainder of the course building upon this introduction. We begin by taking an in-depth look at resource management problems. First, we examine a simple two-period model of the dynamically efficient extraction path for a depletable (or “exhaustible”) resource, such as oil or natural gas. We then extend the model to account for greater-than-two periods, increasing marginal cost of extraction, and the availability of a renewable substitute. We conclude the course by focusing on the economics of water management, and on market-based instruments such as taxes and tradable permits that are used to control common pollution problems.