ARE/ESP 175 introduces students to the economics of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Topics covered include the valuation and use of land and water; fishery economics, management and regulation; extraction and management of nonrenewable resources such as minerals and energy resources; renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy; forest use; sustainability; and natural resource scarcity. Students will learn how to use dynamic models to analyze decision making over time. A solid background in calculus is required. Prerequisite: ARE 100B, Economics 100, or permission of instructor. GE credit: SocSci.
The first half of ARE 254 covers analytical concepts and techniques of dynamic analysis, with a focus on optimal control theory as applied to economic problems. Topics covered include the maximum principle and the concepts of a stationary rate of return to capital and a stationary solution. Applications to nonrenewable resource extraction and optimal economic growth will be presented. This course prepares you for courses that focus on decision making over time, including ARE 277 and ARE 298.
ARE 298 applies advanced topics and methods in empirical industrial organization, economic theory and capital theory to environmental and resource economics. The course emphasizes the dynamic, spatial and strategic aspects of issues relating to the environment, energy and natural resources. Topics include structural econometric estimation of single-agent dynamic optimization problems and multi-agent dynamic games, spatial analysis, game theory, and externalities. Prerequisites: Graduate-level microeconomics, econometrics and dynamic optimization, or permission of instructor.