This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Environmental Economics

Code: 102472 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Economics OT 3
Economics OT 4

Contact

Name:
Jesus Ramos Martin
Email:
jesus.ramos@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

None established. 


Objectives and Contextualisation

The objective of the subject is twofold, on the one hand, to understand the basic concepts of economics that must allow us, on the other, to understand human systems as open systems for the entry of energy and materials and the exit of waste. In other words, the biophysical functioning of economies is studied, which is known as “social metabolism” and the role that natural resources have in maintaining the economic system.

The course also studies the application of economic theory to the analysis and management of natural resources. Decisions on renewable and exhaustible natural resources and on pollution can be based on the balance of monetary costs and benefits. But this approach has limitations. For this reason, the alternative of multi-criteria evaluation of resource management decisions is also proposed.


Competences

    Economics
  • Analyse situation in which there is unequal information between the two sides involved.
  • Capacity for adapting to changing environments.
  • Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
  • Formulate recommendations of economic policy that improve efficiency and equity in market operations.
  • Identify the processes that govern the operation of markets in different competition systems, different scenarios of interrelationship and different timescales.
  • Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
  • Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Take decisions in situations of uncertainty, demonstrating an entrepreneurial and innovative attitude.

Learning Outcomes

  1. A capacity of oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which allows them to summarise and present the work conducted both orally and in writing.
  2. Analyse the operating conditions of markets and other forms of social interaction.
  3. Capacity to adapt to changing environments.
  4. Consider formal models which can be used to study situations with information asymmetry between the parts.
  5. Demonstrate initiative and work independently when required.
  6. Identify the basic elements that characterise the organisation of a market.
  7. Identify the conditions and processes that generate externalities as well as the problems posed by public goods.
  8. Identify the consequences of the existence of information asymmetry among different economic agents on the way in which these organise themselves and on the efficiency of the relationship they establish.
  9. Make decisions in situations of uncertainty and show an enterprising and innovative spirit.
  10. Organise work, in terms of good time management and organisation and planning.
  11. Propose the optimum design of the institutions regulating the markets and of its equipment.
  12. Solve the models formulated to obtain empirically stable predictions.
  13. Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  14. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  15. Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  16. Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  17. Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  18. Use basic optimisation tools and the game theory, and include these elements in a theoretical model.

Content

1. Introduction. The economy as an open subsystem within the biosphere

    - Main economic figures and aggregates
    - The income cycle and the generation of added value
    - Natural resources in the economic process
    - The laws of thermodynamics and their economic interpretation
    - The arrow of time and evolution.

Readings: Common and Stagl 2005: 1-6, 102-105, 136-159, 362-379;Harris 2023, Martínez-Alier 2023, Puig Ventosa and Martínez Sánchez 2023, Villarraga 2023.

 

2. Monetary evaluation and the environment

    - Ecological value and economic value
    - Families of economic valuation methods
    - Total economic value
    - Discount rate

Readings: Common and Stagl 2005: 289-304, Harris and Roach 2017 Chapter 6.

 

3. Instruments of environmental economic policy

    - Externalities
    - Optimal level of pollution
    - Internalization of externalities
    - Pigou and green taxation
    - Coase and the emission rights market
    - Payment for environmental services

Readings: Common and Stagl 2005: 402-435, Corbera and Izquierdo-Tort 2023.

 

4. Cost-benefit analysis

    - Economic and political democracy
    - Arrow's impossibility theorem
    - Kaldor-Hicks compensation criterion
    - Relationship between efficiency and equity
    - Risk, uncertainty and irreversibility

Readings: Munda 1996, Harris and Roach 2017 Chapter 7.

 

5. Multi-criteria evaluation

    - Methodological foundations (substantive and procedural rationality, complexity and post-normal science).
    - Structuring of a multi-criteria problem (alternatives and criteria, weighting of the criteria).
    - Main discrete multi-criteria approaches (Utility approach, MAUT; Improvement methods; NAIADE).
    - Examples

Readings: Munda 2004, Munda 2023, Funtowicz and Ravetz 2023.

 

6. Ownership and access to natural resources


   - Typology of property rights and their relationship with the management of natural resources
    - Governance of the Commons: Theory and Examples. Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons
    - Processes of access and exclusion to natural resources
    - Examples: global commons (sea and atmosphere), biopiracy, land-grabbing

Readings: Harris and Roach 2017 Chapter 4.

 

7. Analysis of non-renewable resources

    - Resource base and reserves
    - The Hubbert curve
    - Hotelling's rule: optimal resource extraction path
    - Backstop technologies
    - The rule of El Serafy
    - EROI or energy rate of return on energy investment
    - Nuclear energy, waste, time and discount

Readings: Harris and Roach 2017 Chapter 5, Harris and Roach 2017 Chapter 17, Espinoza et al., 2019, Melgar and Hall 2023, Kerschner 2023.

 

8. Analysis of renewable resources

    - Sustainable performance. Biological vs economic models
    - Forest economics: technical forestry shift; Faustmann's rule; forest environmental services
    - Fisheries economics: biological model and economic model

Readings: Harris and Roach 2017 Chapter 18, Harris and Roach 2017 Chapter 19.

 

9. Trade and environment

    - Determinants of trade: absolute and relative advantages
    - Governance of international trade (WTO)
    - Environmental implications of international trade
    - Unequal exchange, unequal ecological exchange, and unequal caloric exchange

Readings: Common and Stagl 2005: 445-481, Falconí et al., 2017, Ramos-Martin et al., 2017, Pérez-Rincón 2023.

 

10. Economics and governance of biodiversity

    - The timeline of biodiversity governance: from the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) to the Nagoya Protocol (2010)
    - The generation of value from biodiversity (appropriation mechanisms)
    - Nagoya Protocol and the Multilateral System of Access to Genetic Resources
    - Fair and equitable distribution derived from access to genetic resources: monetary and non-monetary benefits

Readings: Common and Stagl 2005: 521-539, Níjar 2011.

 

11. Economics and governance of climate change

    - Greenhouse effect and global warming
    - Climate change governance (UNFCCC and IPCC)
    - Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, National Communications and NDC
    - Compliance mechanisms: emissions markets, clean development mechanism, joint implementation.

Readings: Common and Stagl 2005: 482-517,Falconí et al., 2019.

 

12. Analysis of the metabolism of societies

    - Endosomatic and exosomatic energy consumption
    - Exosomatic evolution of societies (Peak of oil)
    - Material Flow Analysis
    - Energy analysis, energy accounting, eMergy, exergy
    - Multiscale Analysis of the Metabolism of Societies (MuSIASEM)

Readings: Giampietro 2023a, Giampietro 2023b, Giampietro 2023c, Velasco-Fernández et al. 2015, Krausmann 2023. 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lecture 32.5 1.3 2, 3, 1, 6, 7, 8, 5, 10, 4, 9, 11, 12, 18
Practical sessions: Development of group work, presentation and discussion in class 17 0.68 2, 1, 5, 10, 9, 12
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials and follow-up of the work to be carried out 7.5 0.3 2, 3, 1, 6, 7, 8, 5, 10, 4, 9, 11, 12, 18
Type: Autonomous      
Reading and studying theory 70 2.8 2, 1, 6, 8, 10, 12
Search for information 17 0.68 5

1. Master class and guided debates

The teacher will perform an analytical conceptualization and an updated synthesis of each of the study topics shown in the teaching units. The aim of this activity is to facilitate the transmission of knowledge and motivation for the analysis of the relationship between human activity and the environment, which are focused in order to promote active and cooperative learning.

2. Practical sessions

The practical sessions will consist of presentations and the semi-structured discussion that defines the group. This activity will also serve to relate the fundamental concepts of the subject and give proposals for resolving conflicts both from the perspective of Environmental Economics and from the perspective of Ecological Economics.

3. Tutorials

The learning process and acquisition of skills will be supervised by the teacher through individual and / or group tutorials. The teacher will be available to students to resolve doubts and follow the evolution of the aforementioned process of learning and acquisition of skills of students.

4. Virtual Campus of the subject

Inface-to-face teaching, the Virtual Campus is a useful tool, so that students have a complementary space where they can access different types of materials that the teacher considers basic to advance in the learning process of the subject. To access it, all you have to do is go to the UAB website and there you will find the link, or directly to the website of the virtual campus (https://cv.uab.cat/portada/ca/).

5. Use of AI

Model 2 - Restricted Use: For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively in bibliographic searches and correction of texts or translations. The student must identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools employed, and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a breach of academic honesty. It may result in a partial or total penalty for the activity, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final Essay 30 2 0.08 2, 1, 7, 9, 11, 16, 12
First partial exam 35 2 0.08 17, 3, 6, 8, 5, 4, 15, 18
Second partial exam 35 2 0.08 2, 3, 1, 6, 7, 8, 5, 10, 4, 9, 11, 14, 13, 12, 18

CONTINUOUS EVALUATION

The evaluation of the subject will be based on a continuous evaluation of the process of acquisition of knowledge and skills by the student and will consist of:

- 2 partial knowledge exams that may combine multiple choice and thematic questions and that will count for 35% of the final grade each.

- A final essay, which will count for 30% of the final grade.

 Students who do not submit one of the assignments, and/or do not attend one of the partial exams will have a final grade of "NOT ASSESSABLE"

 Students may request a review of their final grade at the session established for this purpose, and communicated together with their final grades.

 

COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION

By requesting the comprehensive evaluation the student waives the option of continuous evaluation.

The comprehensive  evaluation must be requested at the Academic Management (Gestió acadèmica) of the Campus where the degree/master's degree is taught. The request must be filed according to the procedure and the deadline  established by the administrative calendar of the Faculty of Economics and Business.

  • Student  attendance  is mandatory on the day of the comprehensive assessment. The date will be the same as that of the final exam of the semester as per the evaluation calendar published by the Faculty of Economics and Business and approved by the Faculty's Teaching and Academic Affairs Committee. The duration of the comprehensive assessment must be specified in the characteristics of such activity.
  • 100% of the evaluation evidences must be handed in by the student  on the day of the comprhensive assessment.
  • The evaluation evidences carried out in person by the student on the same day of the comprehensive assessment must have a minimum weight of 70%.

Evidence Type

Weight in the final assessment (%)

Duration of the activity

Is the activity that corresponds to this evaluation evidence to be carried out in person on the  date scheduled for the comprehensive evaluation? (YES/NO) 

Exam

70%

3h

Yes

Essay

30%

 

No

TOTAL

100%

 

 

Students who do not submit the assignment, and/or do not attend the exam, will have a final grade of "NOT ASSESSABLE"

The review of the final grade follows the same procedure as for continuous assessment. 

RESEAT

For the retake procedure, no distinction is made between students who have followed the continuous evaluation and those who have opted for the comprehensive evaluation. All will be re-assessed using the same test or evaluation evidence. Suppose students do not pass the course, either through the continuous evaluation or the comprehensive evaluation. In that case, they will have another opportunity to pass the course through the reseat exam, which will be held on the date set by the degree coordination. In this test, you can recover 70% of the grades corresponding to the theory and seminars. The written assignment will not be recoverable. If a minimum grade of 3 is achieved, this grade will be averaged with the grade obtained in the written essay, taking into account the 70% weighting for the exam and 30% for the essay.

 


Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Common, Michael S., and Sigrid Stagl (2005). Ecological Economics: an Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1eqfv2p/alma991010751826406709

Corbera, E., Izquierdo-Tort, S. (2023): “Payments for Ecosystem Services”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/c/c5g535/ebook-viewer/pdf/wskqmzsron/section/lp_410?auth-callid=8f45ef81-f3cc-41b7-af3b-46ab4db9f78d

Espinoza, V. S., Fontalvo, J., Martí-Herrero, J., Ramírez, P., & Capellán-Pérez, I. (2019). Future oil extraction in Ecuador using a Hubbert approach. Energy (Oxford), 182, 520–534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.06.061

Falconí, F., Ramos-Martin, J., Cango, P. (2017): "Caloric unequal exchange in Latin America and the Caribbean", Ecological Economics., Vol. 134: 140-149. https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1c3utr0/cdi_unpaywall_primary_10_1016_j_ecolecon_2017_01_009.

Falconi, F., Burbano, R., Ramos-Martin, J., Cango, P. (2019): “Toxic income as a trigger of climate change“, Sustainability, Vol. 11 (8):2448. Versión electrónica disponible en https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082448.

Funtowicz, S., Ravetz, J.R. (2023): “Post-normal science”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=43a623a8-ec29-30cc-8411-93edef926270

Giampietro, M. (2023a). Multi-scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism. In: Villamayor-Tomas, S., Muradian, R. (eds) The Barcelona School of Ecological Economics and Political Ecology. Studies in Ecological Economics, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22566-6_10

Giampietro, M. (2023b): “Metabolic flow”, in Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/c/c5g535/ebook-viewer/pdf/wskqmzsron/section/lp_368?auth-callid=8f45ef81-f3cc-41b7-af3b-46ab4db9f78d

Giampietro, M. (2023c): “Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM)”, in Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/c/c5g535/ebook-viewer/pdf/wskqmzsron/section/lp_385?auth-callid=8f45ef81-f3cc-41b7-af3b-46ab4db9f78d

Harris, J.M. (2023): “Green economy”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=771ccd85-8c5d-318e-80c9-4b70dd9f2d26

Harris, J.M. and Roach, B. (2017): Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: A Contemporary Approach. Routledge. 4th Edition. ISBN: 978-0367634858. https://csuc-uab.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1eqfv2p/alma991010842523706709

Kerschner, C. (2023): “Peak-Oil”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/c/c5g535/ebook-viewer/pdf/wskqmzsron/page/pp_417?auth-callid=8f45ef81-f3cc-41b7-af3b-46ab4db9f78d

Krausmann, F. (2023): “Material Flow Accounting”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/c/c5g535/ebook-viewer/pdf/wskqmzsron/section/lp_357?auth-callid=8f45ef81-f3cc-41b7-af3b-46ab4db9f78d

Martínez-Alier, J. (2023). A Barcelona School of Ecological Economics and Political Ecology. In: Villamayor-Tomas, S., Muradian, R. (eds) The Barcelona School of Ecological Economics and Political Ecology. Studies in Ecological Economics, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22566-6_2

Martínez Alier, Joan., and Klaus Schlüpmann (1987). Ecological Economics: Energy, Environment and Society. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1eqfv2p/alma991001038929706709

Melgar, R.E.M., Hall, C.A.S. (2023): “Energy return on investment”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/c/c5g535/ebook-viewer/pdf/wskqmzsron/page/pp_177?auth-callid=8f45ef81-f3cc-41b7-af3b-46ab4db9f78d  

Munda, Giuseppe (1996): “Cost-Benefit Analysis in Integrated Environmental Assessment: Some Methodological Issues.” Ecological economics 19, no. 2 (1996): 157–168. https://csuc-uab.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1c3utr0/cdi_crossref_primary_10_1016_0921_8009_96_00048_1  

Munda, G. (2004). Social multi-criteria evaluation: Methodological foundations and operational consequences. European Journal of Operational Research, 158(3), 662–677. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-2217(03)00369-2

Munda, G. (2023): “Multi-criteria evaluation”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/c/c5g535/ebook-viewer/pdf/wskqmzsron/section/lp_379?auth-callid=8f45ef81-f3cc-41b7-af3b-46ab4db9f78d

Nijar, G. S. (2011): The Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing of genetic resources: analysis and implementation options for developing countries. South Centre research paper 36. Disponible on line https://www.southcentre.int/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Ev_130201_GNjar1.pdf

Padilla Rosa, E. and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/avjcib/alma991010845234606709

Pérez-Rincón, M. (2023): “Ecological Unequal Exchange”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/c/c5g535/ebook-viewer/pdf/wskqmzsron/section/lp_133?auth-callid=8f45ef81-f3cc-41b7-af3b-46ab4db9f78d

Puig Ventosa, I., Martínez Sanchez, V. (2023): “Circular Economy”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=89458bae-aa97-3848-aa94-c10f6bee39d3

Ramos-Martin, J., Falconi, F., Cango, P. (2017): “The concept of caloric unequal exchange and its relevance for food system analysis: The Ecuador case study”, Sustainability, Vol 9(11), 2068. Versión electronica disponible en http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su9112068 

Velasco, R., Ramos-Martin, J., Giampietro, M. (2015): "The energy metabolism of China and India between 1971 and 2010: Studying the bifurcation", Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 41: 1052-1066. Disponibleonline en https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1c3utr0/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_1660094030

Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio., and Roldan. Muradian (Eds.) (2023). The Barcelona School of Ecological Economics and Political Ecology A Companion in Honour of Joan Martinez-Alier. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/1eqfv2p/alma991010787421306709

Villarraga, H.G. (2023): “Population and environment”, en Padilla Rosa, E., and Ramos-Martin, J. (Eds.) (2023): Elgar Encyclopedia of Ecological Economics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80220-040-9.https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=4774ed4c-c169-3d41-b06c-f9e64593513c

 


Software

There is no need for specific software.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 8 English first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 8 English first semester morning-mixed