Students are exposed to a modest amount of demographic measurement, but the focus of the course is on the economic determinants of fertility and migration, the economic consequences of population growth in both developing and developed countries and the policy issues related to population growth. There will be a midterm and several short exercises. This course is interdisciplinary in its orientation, and students with little economics in their background are welcome. J. Urban and Regional Economics 471. Economics of the Environment.
Economists studying natural resources and the environment have two main goals.
They are concerned that the healthfulness and viability of the environment be preserved. In addition, they would like to see that the measures taken to protect the environment are effective and do not reduce the flow of other goods and services any more than is necessary. Economics 471 will be a systematic investigation and discussion of the economics of environmental issues. After an overview of environmental problems, we will review some of the basic principles of microeconomics, emphasizing concepts that are central to environmental economics such as externalities, Pareto optimality, public goods, and cost-benefit analysis. Most of these concepts are covered rather lightly in Economics 401.