Lucas Bretschger: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2018

Award: The Golden Owl
Name Prof. em. Dr. Lucas Bretschger
FieldEconomics, Resource Economics in particular
Address
Ökonomie/Ressourcenökonomie
ETH Zürich, ZUE F 7
Zürichbergstrasse 18
8092 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
Telephone+41 44 632 21 92
E-maillbretschger@ethz.ch
DepartmentManagement, Technology, and Economics
RelationshipProfessor emeritus

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
363-0537-00LResource and Environmental Economics3 credits2GL. Bretschger
AbstractRelationship between economy and environment, market failure, external effects and public goods, contingent valuation, internalisation of externalities; economics of non-renewable resources, economics of renewable resources, cost-benefit analysis, sustainability, and international aspects of resource and environmental economics.
Learning objectiveUnderstanding of the basic issues and methods in resource and environmental economics; ability to solve typical problems in the field using the appropriate tools, which are concise verbal explanations, diagrams or mathematical expressions.

Topics are:
Introduction to resource and environmental economics
Importance of resource and environmental economics
Main issues of resource and environmental economics
Normative basis
Utilitarianism
Fairness according to Rawls
Economic growth and environment
Externalities in the environmental sphere
Governmental internalisation of externalities
Private internalisation of externalities: the Coase theorem
Free rider problem and public goods
Types of public policy
Efficient level of pollution
Tax vs. permits
Command and Control Instruments
Empirical data on non-renewable natural resources
Optimal price development: the Hotelling-rule
Effects of exploration and Backstop-technology
Effects of different types of markets.
Biological growth function
Optimal depletion of renewable resources
Social inefficiency as result of over-use of open-access resources
Cost-benefit analysis and the environment
Measuring environmental benefit
Measuring costs
Concept of sustainability
Technological feasibility
Conflicts sustainability / optimality
Indicators of sustainability
Problem of climate change
Cost and benefit of climate change
Climate change as international ecological externality
International climate policy: Kyoto protocol
Implementation of the Kyoto protocol in Switzerland
ContentEconomy and natural environment, welfare concepts and market failure, external effects and public goods, measuring externalities and contingent valuation, internalising external effects and environmental policy, economics of non-renewable resources, renewable resources, cost-benefit-analysis, sustainability issues, international aspects of resource and environmental problems, selected examples and case studies.
LiteraturePerman, R., Ma, Y., McGilvray, J, Common, M.: "Natural Resource & Environmental Economics", 3d edition, Longman, Essex 2003.
364-0531-00LCER-ETH Research Seminar0 credits2SH. Gersbach, A. Bommier, L. Bretschger
AbstractResearch Seminar of Center of Economic Research CER-ETH
Learning objectiveUnderstanding cutting-edge results of current research in the fields of the CER-ETH Professors.
ContentReferate zu aktuellen Forschungsergebnissen aus den Bereichen Ressourcen- und Umweltökonomie, theoretische und angewandte Wachstums- und Aussenwirtschaftstheorie sowie Energie- und Innovationsökonomie von in- und ausländischen Gastreferierenden sowie von ETH-internen Referierenden.
Prerequisites / NoticeBitte spezielle Ankündigungen beachten.

Studierende des GESS-Pflichtwahlfachs sollten sich vor Beginn mit der Seminarleitung in Verbindung setzen.