ECO 3410: Home

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. Define the concepts and implications of resource scarcity and allocation
2. Describe the market system, how externalities can cause market failure, and the mechanisms to correct for externalities
3. Explain how environmental goods and services are valued
4. Define public goods, the problems associated with public goods, and why many environmental problems are public goods issues
5. Define the tragedy of the commons and the role of property rights
6. Discuss the basics of cost-benefit analysis and the problems associated with its measurement
7. Apply economic tools to evaluate environmental policies and regulation
8. Describe how economic incentives can be used to promote desired environmental outcomes
9. Describe how various types of economic policy harness market forces more effectively than others (ex. command and control vs. emission trading vs. carbon taxes)