ECON 3850

Economics and Environmental Policy

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Introduction to the use of economics as a tool in forming and evaluating environmental policy, with a focus on how economists measure effects of environmental quality and regulation. Topics include: externalities in an environmental context; regulation methods such as command and control, Pigouvian taxation, and cap and trade; methods for measuring the costs and benefits of environmental policy; overview of current environmental legislation; environmental quality and health; regulation and environmental justice.

Prerequisites ECON 1110.

Forbidden Overlaps AEM 4510, ECON 3850, ECON 3865, PUBPOL 3670, PUBPOL 5970

Enrollment Information Enrollment limited to: undergraduate students. Recommended prerequisite: PUBPOL 2100 (or equivalent).

Distribution Requirements (SBA-AG), (SSC-AS), (SBA-HE), (OCE-IL, QP-IL)

Exploratory Studies (CU-SBY)

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025FA, 2023FA, 2022FA, 2020FA

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to explain the reasons for market failure in the presence of externalities in an environmental context.
• Students will be able to identify common methods of government intervention in environmental regulation, and explain relative strengths and weaknesses in the context of both social efficiency and equity.
• Students will be able to discuss and evaluate methods used to measure the economic effects of environmental quality and various environmental policies.
• Students will be able to address the common trade-offs between equity and efficiency in environmental policy, including environmental justice.

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