Teaching Modules Round-Up: Incorporating Environmental Issues into Introductory Economics
By Amita Ganesh
Issues of climate, energy, trade and environment are central to understanding economic development around the world today. The world’s richest 10 percent are responsible for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, while the world’s poorest face the largest burden from the effects of climate change. This raises the critical question of how to promote equitable economic development for an expanding population while maintaining a healthy and sustainable global environment.
A newly updated series of environmental modules from the Economics in Context Initiative (ECI) provides insights into these issues and highlights interventions to address them. ECI’s teaching modules on social and environmental issues in economics are designed for use as stand-alone supplements in undergraduate or graduate-level courses, and are freely downloadable as PDFs for instructors and students.
This edition of our module round-up focuses on topics including climate change, population, water, energy, trade and alternatives to growth-centric development. These modules provide important perspectives on the interaction between economic development and challenging social and environmental issues. Our teaching modules equip students with the tools necessary to unpack these issues effectively and thoughtfully.
The climate and energy modules highlight the urgent need to turn away from fossil fuels, cut emissions and prepare for the unavoidable impacts of climate change. They look at tools like carbon pricing, energy taxes and efficiency policies while also addressing equity concerns such as energy poverty and uneven climate impacts.
The trade and water modules explore how national, regional and global systems can be better designed to account for environmental impacts. Trade theory is revisited through the lens of sustainability, and water economics focuses on scarcity, pricing and policies that promote water conservation.
The population module provides an updated view of global population growth issues. While rapid population growth continues in Africa and parts of Asia, in many areas of the world, including Europe and now also China, population has apparently peaked and started to decline. Global population decline is still some decades away, but we must now grapple with both the problems of environmental stresses caused by population growth and social stresses of providing for larger cohorts of elderly people with fewer workforce entrants.
Another updated module considers the problems of environmental degradation and inequality in relation to economic growth, and explores alternatives to growth-centric development. Comprehensively, these modules show how economics can be used to support more sustainable and equitable outcomes across the world, with detailed attention to policy solutions.
The Economics of Global Climate Change
by Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach and Anne-Marie Codur
This module reviews the science of climate change, highlighting recent data on emissions, temperature and sea-level rise. It also examines economic approaches to addressing the issue. Key topics include valuation of damages, carbon pricing, tradable permits and international policy responses, with updated coverage of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings and developments in carbon storage.
By Brian Roach and Jonathan M. Harris
This module examines four major global energy challenges: accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, electrifying energy systems, promoting energy efficiency and reducing energy inequality. While fossil fuels still supply a significant portion of the world’s energy, faster progress is needed to meet climate goals. This module explores economic tools such as energy taxes, subsidy reform and demand-side management, as well as strategies to address energy poverty in low-income countries. Other topics include energy supply availability, externalities of different energy sources, energy forecasts and the potential for carbon-neutral systems.
By Brian Roach and Jonathan M. Harris
This module combines trade theory with the theory of externalities to show how environmental factors change the usual gains-from-trade framework. It looks at institutional and policy issues in sustainable trade and the “greening” of global environmental institutions, connecting the theory to real-world policy.
By Brian Roach, Anne-Marie Codur and Jonathan M. Harris
This module looks at theories and policies for sustainable water management. It covers current data on global water demand and scarcity, introduces the ideas of virtual water and water footprints and reviews ways to boost water supplies, from groundwater and dams to desalination. It also explores strategies for improving water use efficiency and changes in behavior, weighing the pros and cons of different water rights systems and water markets. It concludes with examining the benefits of managing water as a shared resource.
Population and the Environment
by Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach and Anne-Marie Codur
This module combines economic and ecological analysis to examine global population trends and their impacts on the environment. Global population growth patterns have changed, with some countries moving to a stage of declining population while others, especially in Africa, continue rapid growth. The module analyzes how factors like technological progress, social equity and resource limits shape the relationship between population and economic development. It also explores effective population policies, connecting theory to real-world issues.
Alternatives to Growth-Centric Development
By Erin Lennox, Rebecca Hollender and Brian Roach
This module considers the problems of environmental degradation and inequality in relation to growth-centric development. Perspectives on alternatives to growth along with related policies, practices and challenges are discussed to explain the need to limit economic activity within the biophysical limits of the planet. The module features extensive case studies on alternative approaches in both the Global North and South.
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