Category: Education Materials

The Economics of Global Climate Change

by Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach and Anne-Marie Codur This module, based on chapters 12 and 13 of Harris and Roach’s textbook, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach, discusses the scientific evidence on climate change, including recent projections on temperature and sea-level rise. It then evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of economic analysis of […]

Green Macroeconomics: Growth and Distribution in a Finite World

By Eric Kemp-Benedict This upper-level module presents the study of “green macroeconomics,” viewing the economy as embedded in society, which is embedded in the environment. The module takes a pluralist approach, contrasting neoclassical, post-Keynesian and classical theory, but uses classical models for illustration. Topics include climate mitigation and adaptation, renewable resources, and energy return on […]

Alternatives to Growth-Centric Development

By Erin Lennox and Rebecca Hollender 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 to within the biophysical limits of the planet. The module features extensive […]

Growth and Sustainability in the 21st Century

By Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach, Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar and Neva Goodwin This module, based on Chapter 17 of Macroeconomics in Context, discusses the future of economic growth in an era of ecological limits. It includes analysis of population growth, resources and pollution, and the climate crisis. Policies for a transition to sustainability and a “green” […]

Macroeconomic Measurement: Environmental and Social Dimensions

By Pratistha Rajkarnikar, Neva Goodwin and Brian Roach This module, drawn from the fifth chapter of Macroeconomics in Context, presents an overview of innovations in national accounting related to measuring well-being. The module describes satellite accounts for the environment, methods of counting household production and the construction of well-being indicators such as the Genuine Progress Indicator, […]

Consumption and the Consumer Society

By Brian Roach, Neva Goodwin and Julie A. Nelson This module presents material drawn from Chapter 8 of Microeconomics in Context, 5th edition, to explore the various motivations behind consumer behavior. The historical development of the “consumer society” is summarized, including a discussion of the institutions underlying mass consumerism. The relationship between consumption and well-being is surveyed, […]

Climate Challenges after the Glasgow Conference: The Roles of Forests and Soils

  Jonathan M. Harris and Anne-Marie Codur presented at the United States Society for Ecological Economics Conference on The Post-Covid Economy: Centering Justice, Sustaining Ecosystems June 21-24, 2022. Following the COP26 Glasgow climate conference in 2021, there remains a substantial gap between pledged and needed global emissions reductions. In addition to reducing emissions, closing this gap requires increasing carbon […]