The course is designed to develop an understanding of the sustainability of entire nations, and of the world. Among the questions addressed are: How can sustainability be defined? Is it feasible, for either a nation or the world? How might national accounts be used to measure if a nation, or the world, is developing sustainably? This leads naturally to "ecological economics" questions. Are there any limits to the substitution of human-made capital for environmental resource inputs in making marketed goods, or of marketed goods for environmental quality and social coherence in making people happy? How uncertain and sudden might such limits be? Can they be detected by measuring the economy in physical rather than monetary units?
Topics
* Scoping and defining sustainability and intergenerational equity
* Economic growth with depletable resources and/or pollution
* Measurement of sustainability and income: theory and empirics
* Environmental and sustainability policies
* Case study of greenhouse gas emission control
* Physical measures of sustainability, such as Ecological Footprints
* Environment and development: the Environmental Kuznets curve
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
Distinguish between neoclassical and ecological definitions of, and assumptions relating to, the sustainability of both the global economy and national economies
Demonstrate an understanding of how resource non-renewability, nonrenewable resource substitutability and importance in production, exogenous or endogenous technical progress, declining interest rates and impatience all affect global and national sustainability
Use economic and environmental data to calculate, with suitable qualifications, the neoclassical sustainability of a nation's economy
Explain how and why different analyses of climate policy produce such different recommendations for controlling greenhouse gas emissions
Explain the strengths and weaknesses of ecological measures of national sustainability
Other Information
Delivery Mode:
On Campus
Indicative Assessment
Tutorial assignments: best 3 out of 5 Exercises (15%) and compulsory Essay (10%);
Mid-term Examination (25%); Final Examination (50%)
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
4 contact hours per week; 6 study hours per week
Prescribed Texts
A draft textbook is available from the lecturer
Preliminary Reading
(1) Hanley, Nick, Jason F. Shogren and Ben White (2007a). "The economics of sustainable development." Chapter 2 of Environmental Economics in Theory and Practice, 2nd edn. London, Palgrave Macmillan.
(2) Cole, Matthew A. (2003). "Environmental optimists, environmental pessimists and the real state of the world - an article examining The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World by Bjorn Lomborg." Economic Journal, 113, F362-F380.
(3). Nordhaus, William D. (1992). "Lethal Model 2: The limits to growth revisited." Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2, 1-59.
Assumed Knowledge
Pre-requisites: Master's level microeconomics (IDEC8064, ECON8025 or equivalent), and basic calculus (IDEC8015, ECON2125, MATH1013 or equivalent).
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $5700 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
