Environmental Economics By Gautam Purkayastha (As per CBCS Syllabus)

Description

Contents of Environmental Economics By Gautam Purkayastha (As per CBCS Syllabus) by Kalyani

1. INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

Basic concepts: Environment, Ecology, Economy and the Ecosystem. Definition,

objectives, nature, subject matter and scope of environmental economics. Evolution of Environmental Economics. Why study environmental economics? Environmental economics and Ecological economics, Environmental economics and Resource economics Environment and Opportunity cost (PPC); Choice of environmental quality for the present

and future generations.

Economy-Environment linkages; Environment and Development trade-off,

Environment as constraint and partner, Environment as an Economic Asset and Social Asset Review of microeconomics and welfare economics: the utility function Pareto Optimality, Edgeworth Box, Pareto Efficiency and General Equilibrium;social

choice mechanism, the Compensation Principle and social welfare function

Public good and private good, common property resources, private and social

cost, public good and public bad.

2. THEORY OF EXTERNALITIES, MARKET FAILURE AND PUBLIC GOODS

Externalities: meaning and types of externality, Internalising externalities,

Pigovian tax; Pareto optimality and Market failure in the presence of externalities; market failure and public goods, Sources of market failure and regulations. Environmental pollution as an economic problem, Market economy and inefficiency from externalities. Market with asymmetric information: adverse selection, moral hazard, market signaling, the principal-agent problem, free rider problem.

Property rights and the Coase theorem. Coase’s solution to tragedy of the commons, public good and public bad, Optimal theory of public good. Environmental quality as a public good, Pollution as a public bad/Pollution as

a negative externality, public goods and externalities. Government failure. Theory of public choice and government inefficiency, Government solution market failures

3. ECONOMICS OF RESOURCES AND POLLUTION

Materials Balance Model, Resources and Residuals. Renewable and non-renewable resources

Pollutants, types and sources of pollution Economics of air, water, soll and noise pollution: Desertification,

Conflicts over water, interlinking of rivers, Dams: benefits and problems.

4. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable Approaches to Sustainable Development: weak sustainability, strong sustainability, Safe minimum standard approach, ecological perspective and social perspective,

Conventional development model: a critique, Alternative approach: Development and its origin, objectives of Sustainable Development.

Rules, measurement and indicators of Sustainable Development. The Pearce Atkinson indicator.

Why sustainable development remains a valid policy concern? Economic Growth and Sustainable Development, Government initiative for sustainable development

5. DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

Environmental Policies: an overview; Socially efficient pollution, market

Inefficiency with Externalities, Environmental Pollution as a Negative Externality Nonmarket and market based instruments of Environmental Policy: command and control (CAC) approach: Environmental standard – performance based and technology-based standards.

Economic instruments like Pigovian taxes and effluent fees, tradable permits,

liability law, carbon trading, subsidies, deposit-refund system and mixed

instruments.

Monitoring and Enforcement: What is monitoring and enforcement? Penalties,

cost of abatement. Damages from pollution, Incentives to sources to comply with

environmental regulations. Implementation of environmental policies in India.

6. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Nature of environmental problems: Trans-boundary environmental problems as

problems of international externalities: Global warming, Ozone layer depletion,

Loss of biodiversity, Acid Rain. Economics of climate change: Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol, Durban

Conference

International intervention for sustainable development.

7. ENVIRONMENTAL VALUATION METHODS AND APPLICATIONS

Importance of Environmental Valuation, Total Economic Value of Environment.

Non-Market values: use and non-use values and optional value;

Measurement methods: Stated preference methods/Direct method-estimation of WTP/WTA by contingent valuation Revealed preference methods/Indirect method-hedonic pricing method, travel cost method, Value of statistical life, their applications and limitations.

8. ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN LDCS AND POLICY CHOICES

Monetary Load of Environmental Degradation, Urbanization – a threat to environment, Environmental problems in the countryside, Shifting Cultivation. Compatibility of rapid economic growth with Sustainable Development, Policy options for Environmental Protection in LDCS; Cost-Benefit Analysis

Environmental Legislations in India: nature, effectiveness and weaknesses

9. TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION HAVEN

HYPOTHESIS

Trade and environment: Race to the Bottom, Globalisation and environment.

Pollution Haven Hypothesis, PHH as an explanation of the EKC phenomenon,

Limitation.

Debt-for-Nature Swap

10. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

Environmental Impact Assessment: procedures, limitations, Importance, Cost benefit analysis

11. ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE, POVERTY AND ENVIRONMENT

Meaning of EKC, Inverted-U and N-shaped curve. Conflicting effects of development on environment.

Environmental quality in the past, present and future.

Poverty and environmental quality; population and environmental quality. 12. WATERSHED MANAGEMENT, DEFORESTATION AND SOLID

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Watershed management: meaning, importance, components. Deforestation, Joint

forest management – success and failures

Solid waste management: Meaning, importance, problems, solutions.

13. COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES AND TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS

Private resources, open-access resources, common property, state property. CPR the concept, CPR as a livelihood support, Tragedy of Commons. Prisoner’s Dilemma

REFERENCES