The Economics of a Sustainable Society

Humboldt State University
Arcata, California


Instructor: Hackett, Steve
Subject area: Economics
Department: Economics
Course number: 309
Year taught: 1998
Comments: See web-site for lecture notes on slides, practice quizzes, etc.

For additional information: http://www.humboldt.edu/~envecon
Please note that the copyright for this syllabus is retained by the instructor.


Overview: -Investigate what is meant by sustainability as an ethic and a policy standard.
-Understand the interrelationships between sustainability and factors such as income and poverty, education and empowerment, international trade, population growth, and taxes.
-Understand the role of discounting in economic and policy analysis, and investigate whether discounting can be made consistent with sustainability.
-To evaluate the methods and performance of past forms of economic development assistance programs, and to develop a theory of sustainable economic development.
-To learn about ways of measuring progress toward more sustainable economic development.
-To investigate issues associated with more sustainable production and consumption.
-To consider in detail the problem of moving toward more sustainable local community development.
-To further develop your oral and written communication skills, and your research and critical thinking capabilities.

Course Objectives:
-Investigate what is meant by sustainability as an ethic and a policy standard.
-Understand the interrelationships between sustainability and factors such as income and poverty, education and empowerment, international trade, population growth, and taxes.
-Understand the role of discounting in economic and policy analysis, and investigate whether discounting can be made consistent with sustainability.
-To evaluate the methods and performance of past forms of economic development assistance programs, and to develop a theory of sustainable economic development.
-To learn about ways of measuring progress toward more sustainable economic development.
-To investigate issues associated with more sustainable production and consumption.
-To consider in detail the problem of moving toward more sustainable local community development.
-To further develop your oral and written communication skills, and your research and critical thinking capabilities.

Textbooks:
-Hackett, Steve, Environmental and Natural Resources Economics: Theory, Policy, and the Sustainable Society (M.E. Sharpe, 1998).
-Bauen et al., Sustainable Community Checklist (Northwest Policy Center, 1996).
-Johnson, Kirk, Toward a Sustainable Region: Evolving Strategies for Reconciling Community and the Environment (Northwest Policy Center, 1997).

Topical Outline:

-Part I: Introduction and fundamentals

Week 1: Overview of some economic fundamentals (Chapters 1 - 3 of Hackett textbook)

Week 2: (a) Markets and future resource scarcity (Chapter 5 of Hackett textbook, pp. 82-85);
(b) Introduction to the sustainability perspective (Chapter 11 of Hackett textbook; Section II of Johnson book, pp. 11-17; pp. 4-6 of Bauen
et al. book)

-Part II: Thinking Globally

Week 3: Understanding interdependencies and thinking long term (Chapter 12 of Hackett textbook)

Week 4: Sustainable economic development (Chapter 13 of Hackett textbook)

Week 5: Sustainable production and consumption (Chapter 14 of Hackett textbook)

-Part III: Acting Locally

Weeks 5-6: The economics of more sustainable local community development (Chapter 15 of Hackett textbook;

Week 7: Evolving strategies for reconciling community and the environment in the rural northwest (Johnson book)

Week 8: Midterm exam

***Spring Break, 16-20 March***

Week 9: Guest presentations: moving toward more sustainable community development (CEED Director Maggie Gainer; 3rd District Supervisor John Woolley)

Week 10: Guest presentations: moving toward more sustainable community development (AEDC Peer Support Program Director Nancy Reichard; AEDC Executive Director Jim Kimbrell)

Week 11: (a) Guest presentation: sustainable forestry and rural economic development (Institute for Sustainable Forestry Executive Director Jude Wait); (b) Conclusion of Part III/Lecture-Discussion: Sustainable Community Principles (Bauen et al. book)

-Part IV: Student Group Presentations

Weeks 12, 13, 14, and Tuesday 5 May

***Final Exam: Thursday May 14, 3:00***

Policies:

Responsibilities:

My responsibility is to lead and motivate students who are committed to the learning process, and to determine the extent to which students have mastered the material covered in this course. By signing up for this course you have accepted responsibility for attending class regularly and on-time, being an active learner who contributes to the classroom discussion, and for your performance on assignments.

Procedural Rules:

Missed or late assignments: If you fail to take an exam, turn in a term paper, participate in a group presentation, or miss a class in which I take attendance, you will receive a "0." The only exception is for serious and compelling reasons, which are limited to documented and serious illnesses, hospitalization, death in the family, or equally important reasons. If this occurs to you, you must notify me as soon as possible (and prior to exams) and I will offer you an alternative to receiving "0". Turning in late term papers can place those who respected the deadline at a grade disadvantage because they had less time to develop their work. Accordingly, unless you have a serious and compelling reason for missing an assignment or term paper deadline, you will receive a 2 letter grade deduction for lateness.

Grading Philosophy:

Grades are based on my professional opinion of your work and are not subject to negotiation. If I have made an error, however, please bring it to my attention.

Conduct:

Don't be late, don't interrupt speakers, be courteous of others, and engage the subject matter. Help create a friendly, inclusive, and rigorous classroom culture in which everyone is welcome to comment and contribute, and in which diversity is respected.

Grading:

Mid-Term Examination:

You will have one mid-term examination worth 35 percent of your final grade.

Group Presentation:

You will engage in one group presentation in which you present an analysis and evaluation of sustainable development
policies in some country or city or community. This presentation is worth 20 percent of your final grade.

Attendance:

Attendance after the mid-term exam will be monitored and graded. Attendance is worth 15 percent of your grade.

Term Paper (Due Tuesday 21 April 1998 In Class):

Students will write a short (maximum of 7 double-spaced pages of text) word-processed term paper in which you report of independent study in some aspect of the subject matter of the course. Several examples of past term papers are given in the student essays component of the course Internet site. For example, you could write a critical essay on one of the readings, a topic out of the textbook, or especially one of the independent readings books. You could do independent research, or volunteer research activity for an agency or organization. You could read and review several books or articles on the subject matter that are not covered in the course. All term papers will have a cover page with title, author, and date, no more than 7 pages of double-spaced text (with sources cited in the text), a list of references (usually a minimum of 5), and any tables, figures, or other appendix material you would like to include (not a place to dump more text). You should get your topic approved by me beforehand; this will allow you to get feedback from me and likely improve your grade. Please note that the grade of "A" is reserved for work that is truly an outstanding achievement. In contrast, "B" refers to work that is more than satisfactory ("C") but less than an outstanding achievement. Your term paper grade will be determined based on (1) mastery of economic concepts, degree of economic sophistication, and the quality of your description of the linkages between economic concept and the environment, (2) quality of writing, and (3) novelty, originality, and creativity of your project. The term paper constitutes 30 percent of your final grade.

Final Examination:

Students can elect to take the final exam as a method of raising their mid-term exam score, and carries the same 35
percent weight if it is taken.

Final Grade:

Numerical scores are assigned for each graded item. Your Course Numerical Score will be:

.35*max{Mid-Term Exam Score, Final Exam Score}
+ .20*(Group Presentation Score)
+ .15*(Attendance Score)
+.30*(Term Paper Score).

This Course Numerical Score will then be converted into a letter grade based on the following scale:

100 - 93: A
92.99 - 90: A-
89.99 - 88: B+
87.99 - 83: B
82.99 - 80: B-
79.99 - 78: C+
77.99 - 73: C
72.99 - 65: C-
64.99 - 60: D+
59.99 - 50: D
49.99 - 0: F