Module ECON44015: Environmental Valuation

Department: Economics and Finance

ECON44015: Environmental Valuation

Tied To

• L1T109: Economics
• L1T209: Public Economics
• L1T309: Experimental Economics
• L1T409: Environmental & Natural Resource Economics

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To develop advanced knowledge and analytical skills in the theory and practice of the techniques used for environmental valuation.

Content

• Topics will be drawn primarily from the following:
• Concepts of value
• Revealed Preferences Techniques (e.g. Hedonic Pricing Method, Travel Costs Method, etc.)
• Stated Preferences Techniques (e.g. Contingent Valuation Method, etc.)
• Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Environmental Accounting including Green National Accounting

Learning Outcomes

• be able to interpret scholarly literature at the frontier of research in environmental valuation;
• have explored, understood and appreciated the complexity and contradictions of the current academic literature and its implications for professional practice, and be able to identify open questions for their own research in environmental valuation;
• have a critical understanding of the contribution of economic concepts and techniques to the valuation of the environment.

• be able to apply economic concepts and techniques for the valuation of the environment;
• be able to apply techniques of environmental valuation to current issues in environmental policy-making;
• be able to offer environmental policy recommendations informed by the knowledge and technical skills acquired in the module.

• Written Communication;
• Planning, Organising and Time Management;
• Problem Solving and Analysis;
• Using Initiative;
• Numeracy;
• Computer Literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures will present the topics in detail, give suggestions for further reading, give guidance for the problems for the seminars, and give students the necessary knowledge to read and understand the scholarly literature.
• In the seminars students will be encouraged to actively participate and solve the problems. The seminars will train the students to solve analytical problems in the theory underlining environmental valuation, identify and critically discuss its applications as well as giving students opportunity to identify research questions.
• The summative written assignment will test students' knowledge and critical understanding of the material covered in the module, their analytical and problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Students will receive written comments on a formative written assignment. Additional formative assessment and feedback may take a number of forms such as oral feedback on work prepared by students for seminars; answers to questions either discussed during a seminar, or posted on DUO.