Syllabus / Curriculum design
The nature and purpose of economics; economics and enviromental issues; some tools of economics analysis - supply, demand, price, marginal concept, discounting the futre; the market mechanism, resource and the enviromant; public policy and the enviroment.

Learning outcomes
This is an introductory module for students who are not economists. At the conclusion of the course students should be able to:

i) understand the nature and purpose of economics and the perspective that economics can bring to the analysis of enviromental problems;

ii) identify the weakness of the price mechanism as a means of resource allocation, the range of policy options that exists in the event of market failure, and compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of the different policies.

Aims of the module
To provide an introduction of the nature and purpose of economics and to discuss the contribution that economics can make to the analysis of environmental issues and the formulation of environmental policies. No previous knowledge of economics is assumed. The course is provided for students reading for a BSc in Environmental Science. Students reading other degree schemes will only be allowed with permission of the module lecturers.