The relationships among human development, economic institutions and the environment are among the most interesting and challenging we face.  Two keys to meeting these challenges are to understand the interdependence of these relationships, and to apply appropriate concepts, analytical tools, and measures to the development, evaluation, and advocacy for better solutions. That so many of these relationships seem to be broken is testament to how few possess those key skills or the ability and/or the will to apply them, especially in the face of opposition from those with a stake in the status quo.

The overall purpose of this course, therefore, is to equip, at least partially, students with those skills and abilities. Our primary tools will come from neoclassical microeconomics and the subdiscipline(s) of natural resource and environmental economics.