ECN340 Introduction to Economics, the Global Economy and Environmental Governance

The course is an introduction to both the Master in Environmental Economics and Governance, and the Master in Global Economy and Politics.

The course is designed to make you familiar with the content of the programs and their interdisciplinary nature. The course will feature some joint and some program specific lectures, and program specific seminar assignments, group discussions, and excursion.

Students in the Master in Environmental Economics and Governance will get a brief overview of the drivers behind environmental change, the international organizations and institutions working with adapting to and mitigating the impact of environmental change, an overview of the history of international agreements, the role of economics and economic instruments and their alternatives, and environmental policy in practice.

Students in the Master in Global Economy and Politics will get an overview of the intersection of international economics and international relations. Attention will be given to the cross-cutting issues related to sustainability and global risk assessment. The study of globalization (e.g., trade, and international flows of capital and labor) involves analyzing the geopolitical processes by which international factors and institutions affect the domestic economic arena of a country, and how domestic political-economic factors, in turn, affect the international political-economic arena.

Knowledge:

- Understand the interaction between society, the domestic economy, and the international political bodies that govern issues related to environment, finance and investment, trade, and labor.

- Knowledge about different definitions of sustainable development and how these are applied within different disciplines.

- Understanding of economic theories and concepts relevant to sustainability (e.g., environment, income inequality, debt, etc.).

- Understand the role of economic instruments to address global challenges.

- Develop a foundation by which to study the role of actors, stakeholders, policymakers and international institutions in response to economic shocks, political events, or climate change that have consequences for international commercial relations, security concerns, mass migration, poverty, etc.

Skills:

- Critically evaluate theories and approaches to understand environmental, financial, business, or political change.

- Reflect on the appropriateness of different economic and non-economic policy instruments to address these changes.- The ability to identify country- or industry-specific risks by analyzing global political-economic or climatic events; and

- The ability to critically assess risks and consider/propose mitigation strategies through domestic policies or roles for international institutions.

General competence:

- Work in interdisciplinary groups

- Clearly communicate complex topics in both written form and orally through discussions and presentation to an audience

- Reflect on and critically think about global economic challenges and the international political solutions.