Environmental and Energy Economics

General Description

Energy consumption, natural environment and economic growth are tightly connected. Only recently the mainstream economic theory has started to pay attention on the vital role the energy resources play in promoting environmental quality and economic development. For instance, high energy prices may be a significant economic or financial barrier for a firm or even for a country to follow a long-run green growth path. At the microeconomic level, public goods, common property resources and environmental externalities will be analyzed. Therefore, business managers and economists in any sector ought to be aware about the potential impact that may face through energy market structures and energy regulatory structures in meeting their targets. This course intents to cover a variety of theoretical and empirical topics in the field of energy and environmental economics. Indicative topics are: general overview of energy supply and demand, the formulation of short-run and long-run energy prices as well as energy taxation, natural gas markets, oil markets, electricity markets, energy supply and the economics of depletable resources. The rationale for government intervention will be discussed and the various instruments for environmental policy, such as command and control, environmental taxation and tradable emission permits markets, will be presented and evaluated. Furthermore, the international dimension of environmental problems will be examined and the difficulties in engaging in international environmental agreements will be analyzed. By the completion of the course, students are expected to apply fundamental economic tools to the major energy economic and environmental questions. The student may apply to vacancies seeking for an energy economist capable of conducting economic analysis related to energy markets and ability to utilize economic tools and models for decision making.