Critical Social Inquiry 0206 - Economics and the Environment

How much environmental degradation is too much? Who wins and who loses from environmental degradation? And how can sustainability be achieved? In this survey course, we will examine how the theories of neoclassical, ecological and political economics have been used to answer these questions. Using these economic lenses, we will analyze a range of issues related to pollution and natural resource use, with special attention to climate change-related problems and their impacts across country, race, class and gender lines. We will also consider the policy prescriptions of these economic approaches and compare them to existing and proposed environmental policies. Previous coursework in basic microeconomic theory, or willingness to become familiar with it outside of class, will be helpful in understanding the neoclassical economic analysis presented in this course.

Power, Community and Social Justice Quantitative Skills Writing and Research