114532 Vertiefungsseminar II | Growth, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development

Veranstaltungsdetails

Lehrende: Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch

Veranstaltungsart: Seminar

Orga-Einheit: Sociology, Politics & Economics

Anzeige im Stundenplan: SPE Vertiefung II

Semesterwochenstunden: 3

Credits: 9,0

Standort: Campus der Zeppelin Universität

Unterrichtssprache: Englisch

Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: 10 | 18

Prioritätsschema: Standard-Priorisierung

Inhalte:
Topics


  • Economic growth improves material standards of living. Sustainable development, in terms of meeting the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs,' addresses the utilization of natural resources, the state of the environment, and intergenerational equity

 

  • The course will blend formal models, empirical evidence, and policies to provide a coherent treatment of economic growth and sustainabledevelopment.


Contents

  •  Introduction to Economic Growth;
  • Growth Models and Empirical Analysis;
  • Natural Resources and Limits to Growth;
  • Sustainable Development: Concepts and Measurement;
  • Natural Resources and Climate Change;
  • Markets and the Role of Government;
  • Policies and Practices for Sustainable Development;

We will move from concepts of “growth without nature,” via “nature as a problem for growth,” to finally arrive at “growth as a problem for nature (… and for us).” For this, we will consecutively widen the notion of capital, from physical capital only to human capital, finally to also encompass natural capital.

Accordingly, we will widen our notion of sustainability.

Course Prerequisites
There are no formal course prerequisites. However, in terms of an adequate preparation, two courses of microeconomics and and macroeonomics each are highly recommended.


Lernziele:

By the end of the course, students should


  • know about causes of economic growth and why some countries grow faster than others;

 

  • gain insight into the limits to economic growth due to non-renewable resource constraints and environmental thresholds;familiarize themselves with questions on whether and how sustainable development is compatible with economic growth: can sustainable development be attained without addressing the extreme poverty that afflicts over a billion of the world’s population?



 

Weitere Informationen zu den Prüfungsleistungen:
Grading in this course is based on a 2:1 weighted combination of student achievements in a written homework (essay) and the preparation of written material for a 20-minute oral presentation (slides).

Grading of written homework is based on the criteria as outlined below. Grading of the presentation material is based on style, consistency  and cogency.

Details on homework and presentation
Each student has to hand in a written homework (essay) of usual ZU length (20,000 characters without spaces). The language is  English, the cover page should state title of the homework and student name. Essays are to be handed in as pdf documents, attached to emails both to me (frensch@ios-regensburg.de) and papers@zu.de. The deadline is January 31, 2021.
Students may choose one of three basic homework types: (a) a topical essay, or (b) a country growth and development profile, or (c) a description and critical assessment of an international cooperation agreement.

Ad (a): A topical essay
Review and summarize the introductory reading on the topic. Find additional references to discuss and critically assess the key  points of the introductory reference.

Ad (b): A country growth and development profile
Use data, graphical information based on the data, and your knowledge on growth and development to answer three questions in your brief essay: (i) what accounts for “your” country’s level of GDP per capita and GDP per worker? (ii) what accounts for its long-run growth performance, and (iii) is the country’s growth process sustainable?

Ad (c): A description and critical assessment of an international cooperation agreement relevant for the topic of our course
First, identify some particular international cooperation agreement you deem relevant for the topic of our course (could, e.g., be a climate convention). Then, review and summarize the international cooperation agreement. Find additional references to discuss and critically assess the key consequences of the respective agreement on development and sustainability.

Essays can either be chosen from a list of topics (to be distributed during July) or you can suggest a paper topic (you will need to discuss your choice with me). You may contact me for homework assignments any time.

Hint: your knowledge on growth and development may widen during the course which is why the deadline for essays is 31 January.

Consequently, compared to your presentation materials, you may hand in revised work by January; it is therefore that presentation material assessment will be based on style, consistency and cogency rather than on content.

If numbers of participants allow, each student will present orally. In case the number of course participants is too high, oral presentation is voluntary or will be determined at random. Presentations will take place on the second and/or third weekend meetings.

Literatur:
Mandatory literature


  • The slides to the course (to be distributed during August) are mandatory reading.


Recommended reading:

  • Dasgupta, P. (2007): Sustainable Economic Development, ch. 7 in: Economics. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press
  • Dasgupta, P. (2004): Human Well-Being and the Natural Environment, Oxford University Press
  • Jones, Charles I., and D. Vollrath (2013): Introduction to Economic Growth, 3rd ed., W.W. Norton

Selected academic papers and documents from international organisations will be recommended during the course.

Wenn Sie E-Learning Funktionalitäten nutzen möchten, tragen Sie bitte "Ja" ein.:
Ja

Termine
Datum Von Bis Raum Lehrende
1 Fr, 16. Okt. 2020 13:30 19:00 online Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch
2 Sa, 17. Okt. 2020 10:00 16:00 online Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch
3 Fr, 30. Okt. 2020 13:30 19:00 online Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch
4 Sa, 31. Okt. 2020 10:00 16:00 online Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch
5 Fr, 13. Nov. 2020 13:30 19:00 online Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch
6 Sa, 14. Nov. 2020 10:00 16:00 online Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch
Veranstaltungseigene Prüfungen
Beschreibung Datum Lehrende Bestehenspflicht
1. Midterm + Endterm k.Terminbuchung Ja
Übersicht der Kurstermine
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
Lehrende
Prof. Dr. Richard Frensch