Environmental Economics — DU B.Sc. (Hons.) Environmental Science Previous Year Question Papers

DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC ELECTIVE (DSE-EVS-01): ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS CREDIT DISTRIBUTION, ELIGIBILITY AND PRE-REQUISITES OF THE COURSE Course title & Credits Credit distribution of the Code course criteria requisite Lecture Tutorial Practical/ Practice course 4 2 0 2 Class XII pass Learning objectives The Learning Objectives of this course are as follows: Appreciate critical linkages between fundamentals of environmental economics and environmental conservation Evaluate five megatrends involving climate, development, ecology, economy, and technology Inculcate market-based instruments in designing sustainable development approaches Gain insights into intricacies of economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystems for making evidence-based conservation and development priorities Empower with the integrated use of economics & ecology in decision-making and law-making processes. Learning outcomes After the course, the students will be able to Use cost-benefit analysis and valuation techniques for environmental economics and natural resource management Implement economic and ecological concepts to influence society and policymakers for environmental and biodiversity conservation Act as a consultant to industries and government ministries aiming for sustainability Serve as a catalyst for developing ecoliterate industry and evolving sustainable policies Evolve ideas and economics-based techniques to design policy instruments for pollution control and management Theory (02 Credits: 30 lectures) UNIT – I Introduction to microeconomics (3½ Weeks) (07 lectures) Definition and scope of environmental economics; environmental economics versus traditional economics; brief introduction to major components of economy: consumer, firm and their interaction in the market, producer and consumer surplus, market failure, law of demand and supply, tangible and non-tangible goods; utilitariasm; Pareto optimality; compensation principle. UNIT – II Environmental economics (4 Weeks) (08 lectures) Main characteristics of environmental goods; marginal analysis; markets and market failure; social benefit, costs and welfare functions; meaning and types of environmental values; measures of economic values; tangible and intangible benefits; Pareto principle or criterion; Hardin’s Thesis of ‘The Tragedy of Commons’; Prisoner’s dilemma game; methods of abatement of externalities; social cost-benefit analysis; cost-effectiveness analysis. UNIT – III Economic solutions to environmental problems (3½ Weeks) (07 lectures) Social costs and benefits of environmental programmes: marginal social benefit of abatement, marginal social cost of abatement; pollution control: policies for controlling air and water pollution, disposal of toxic and hazardous waste- standards vs. emissions charges, environmental subsidies, modelling and emission charges; polluter pay principles; pollution permit trading system. UNIT – IV Natural resource economics (1½ Weeks) (03 lectures)