Intermediate Natural Resource Economics
NRE 583 / ECON 472
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: NRE 570 or Econ 401 or Permission of Instructor.

This course is an introduction to the economics of natural resources. Both replenishable resources (such as water, trees, fish, whales, wildlife, and agricultural products) and non replenishable resources (such as oil and minerals) are considered. The defining characteristic of such resources is that increased consumption today has future consequences. The course therefore emphasizes intertemporal choices. Comparisons are made between the market outcome when self-interested agents interact over time and efficient intertemporal exploitation of the resource. Such comparisons are made under certainty and uncertainty and when the resource is privately owned or "common property." For balance, models of animal behavior are also considered including optimal foraging behavior and evolutionary stable equilibria.