Courses

UPCES Environmental Studies Courses

Here you'll find the UPCES course option related to Environmental Studies. Please note that course offerings are subject to change or cancelation based on faculty availability and student enrollment. All course subjects must be approved by your home institution for departmental credit.

This course listing includes a detailed description, cross-listed subjects, and a downloadable syllabus.
 

Environmental Economics in the Central European Context (IEF)
[POLITICAL SCIENCE/ECONOMICS/ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, 3 credits]

Syllabus

The aim of this course is to introduce students to some basic economic principles and theories explaining environmental issues and problems today and to explore existing policies at the national, international, and global level. Students will learn about concepts such as externalities, the tragedy of the commons, enforcement as a public good, interventionist solutions to the externality problem such as taxes and marketable pollution permits, as well as non-interventionist solutions to the externality problem such as the Coasian solution and self-regulation. Students will also review the debate over the environmental Kuznets curve. Because experimental evidence nicely complements theoretic insights, field data, and simulating models, we will conduct in-class experiments and also review some research articles that draw on the experimental methodology.

Pre-requisites: One introductory economics course or statistics course

Financial Economics of Climate and Sustainability (IEF)
[ECONOMICS, ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, 3 credits]

Syllabus

This course explores the intersection of finance, economics, and climate change science to introduce students to the current thinking of financial economists on the most pressing climate change and sustainability issues. Theoretical concepts and empirical applications will present students with a broad perspective on the rich and rapidly evolving field of climate and sustainability finance. Many of the problems are open-ended, reflecting the complexity and deep uncertainty intrinsic to the real-world situations faced by today's decision-makers. The case studies, discussions, and real-world examples will provide additional insights into the implications of climate change for financial markets and the promising strategies for sustainable finance.

Pre-requisites: Minimal - Introduction to Microeconomics, Introduction to Macroeconomics or Introduction to Statistics; Recommended - Introduction to Microeconomics, Introduction to Macroeconomics, Introduction to Statistics