Program Overview
Environmental Economics is the interdisciplinary study of why people make decisions and undertake activities that have a detrimental effect on the natural world and how we as a society can improve the way we make decisions to lessen their negative environmental impact. It's an innovative, relevant field that draws on knowledge from disciplines of economics, geography, environmental studies, political science, and philosophy.
- Why do firms and individuals pollute the air and water?
- What types of regulations are most effective at reducing harmful emissions of pollutants?
- How much should we as a society spend today on investments to slow down climate change?
- Can we as a society make decisions which balance environmental quality with the need for jobs and economic activity?
- Are government decision makers doing a good job of protecting our environment?
Our Environment and Economics Option will help you answer these questions and many more. The intent of the program is to offer a mix of courses that will provide the tools to help you make decisions that balance our desire to protect the environment while promoting a healthy economy. Whether you plan someday to work for the government, designing and implementing environmental policy, or you want to be in a position to help private organizations make wiser environmental choices, the Environmental Economics program may be for you.
The Environment and Economics Option is for you if…
- you hope to work in the private sector helping firms do a better job of protecting the environment
- you want to expand your horizons by gaining better understanding of government environmental policy
- you want to understand how government environmental regulation of corporations and individuals can be made more effective
- you hope to someday work in a career that will require you to analyze policy decisions which affect the environment.
Whatever your special interest, you can focus on it by combining your major with an option in Environment and Economics. Here are some of the many possible combinations:
- If your main interest is in Environmental Studies, but you want a greater understanding of the economics approach to environmental problems you could combine a program in Environmental Studies with the Environment and Economics option.
- If your main interest is in economics but you want to enhance your knowledge of environmental sciences you could combine a program in Economics with the Environment and Economics option.
- If you want to focus on political science but are also interested in government decisions that affect the environment you could combine a program in political science with the Environment and Economics option.
- If you want to learn what the roots of environmental and economic policy are, you could combine a program in History and the Environment and Economics option.
