Course description
Title of the Teaching Unit
Topics in Economics and Environment
Code of the Teaching Unit
22EC012
Academic year
2024 - 2025
Cycle
Number of credits
5
Number of hours
60
Quarter
1
Weighting
Site
Anjou
Teaching language
English
Teacher in charge
ROMAN Philippe
Objectives and contribution to the program
- Understand the multidirectional and complex relationships between economic systems and socio-ecological systems, and develop critical personal reflection on this subject.
- Learn about the facts, concepts, theories and analytical tools that allow to analyse and assess these relationships, and be able to identify the conditions for their relevant use.
- Identify the implications of these relationships in terms of management and conceive desirable alternatives to unsustainable practices.
Prerequisites and corequisites
Content
The following topics will be addressed:
- The place and significance of environmental issues in economic theories
- The impacts of economic activity on ecosystems and their theoretical framing
- The constraints that evolving ecosystems place on economic growth
- The diverse ways of conceptualising and measuring sustainability at the global and national levels, as well as at the level of individual firms
- Alternative business models with high sustainability potential
- Environmental policies and their effects on firms
Teaching methods
The class is meant to be interactive and participative.
Classroom lectures alternate with interactive/participative sessions (Q&A, group work and discussion, quizzes...).
Reading research papers is an integral part of the course and a way of fueling well-documented debates.
Assessment method
Assessment takes the form of an in-class written exam composed of multiple choice questions and open questions.
References
All course slides, papers and useful links to be found on Moodle.
Indicative bibliography:
core-econ.org
Gossen, M., Niessen, L., (2024), Sufficiency in Business. The Transformative Potential of Business for Sustainability, transcript.
Harris, J.M., Roach, B., (2013), Environmental and Natural Resource Economics. A Contemporary Approach, Routledge.
O'Neill et al., (2018), A good life for all within planetary boundaries, Nature Sustainability, vol. 1, p. 88-95.
Raworth, K., (2018), Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist, Random House.
Ropke et al., (2017), Ecological Economics, Aalborg University.
Sommer, A., (2012), Managing Green Business Model Transformations, Springer.