Environmental Economics

This MSc is aimed at students from a variety of backgrounds, including students with no previous training in (environmental) economics, and develops the knowledge and skills needed to equip them for a successful career in the environmental sector, broadly defined. The course is offered by the Economics department within the Stirling Management School. Stirling has a long-standing, recognised expertise in teaching, research and practice in this area.

Senior personnel from a variety of institutions in the UK and abroad from the environmental and (inter)national policy sectors are invited to give talks to the class, providing students with a background of how environmental economics is utilised in various institutions.

Course objectives

• To provide knowledge and understanding of how economic policy alters environmental outcomes
• To develop an appreciation of the insights which economic analysis can bring to environmental issues
• To develop the ability to appraise investment projects using a variety of techniques such as environmental cost-benefit analysis
• To develop the knowledge of various international organisations that regulate and shape environmental outcomes and help to design and implement international environmental agreements
• To develop an understanding of the techniques to evaluate environmental policy programmes
• To develop the ability to identify and analyse situations of strategic interactions and the important features of institutional frameworks that shape them

Entrance requirements

At least a lower second class Honours degree from a UK university, or an equivalent qualification. The qualification need not be in Economics: most subjects are acceptable. Applicants with lower qualifications or special circumstances are also considered if they have relevant work experience.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency such as a minimum IELTS score of 6 (minimum 5.5 in each skill), or TOEFL: Listening 21, Reading 22, Speaking 23, Writing 21.

Funding

Stirling Management School Postgraduate Scholarships

Stirling Management School is committed to investing in academically talented students, enabling them to further their education with a reputable qualification from one of the many Postgraduate Degree Programmes on offer at the University of Stirling. There are various categories of funding available to support the cost of your studies at Stirling Management School.

Information on possible sources of funding

Modes of study

Full-time

Course start date

September

Structure and content

Semester 1 modules:

• Energy and Resource Economics: The main economic theories of the management of non-renewable and renewable resources; valuation of external effects of energy use; alternative ways of modelling energy and resource use; the place of energy and resource use within sustainable development strategies.
• Environmental Economics: The application of economic theory and methodologies to the better understanding of environmental problems and improving the design of environmental policy.
• Environmental Valuation and Methods: This module will cover the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings for environmental valuation, the methods for valuing non-market goods, and applications of valuation techniques in the design environmental policy.
• Environmental Policy and Management: The role of environmental management in society and the role of governments.

Semester 2 modules:

• The Economics of Climate Change: The main economic arguments that help explain why human-induced climate change has arisen; estimation of damage costs from climate change; evaluation of climate change mitigation options; problems of international cooperation on climate change policy; distributional implications of climate change and climate change policy.
• Environmental Economics II: More advanced treatment of selected key topics in environmental economics.
• Energy Markets and Policy: The function of the major markets for energy: oil, coal, natural gas, electricity, and alternative/renewable energy in a national and international context; the technological structure and parameters of energy supply and use; forecasting supply or demand for energy; the environmental issues related to energy use and consumption; the effect on energy markets of national and international environmental policy.
• Seminar on Environmental Economics: This will include presentations by visiting speakers from the UK industry, regulatory authorities and NGOs. The students will learn how to write and present policy briefs.

Summer:

• Dissertation: Students write a dissertation on a topic in environmental economics, approved by the Course Director.

View full module descriptions

Delivery and assessment

Modules are typically taught by a combination of lectures and seminars. Lectures are primarily to impart knowledge and to stimulate further study.  Seminars are taught in small groups and provides an opportunity for interaction with staff and other students to allow discussion of key issues and problems arising from the lectures and reading; to provide learning support related to the lectures; and to provide feedback on written work. In some cases students make presentations. In the summer students write their dissertation, supervised by staff. The examination takes place at the end of the semester in which the module is taught.

Module titles

Semester 1:

• Energy and Resource (EGMP18 )
• Environmental Economics (ENMP05)
• Environmental Valuation and Methods (ENEP19)
• Environmental Policy and Management (ENMP05)

Semester 2:

• The Economics of Climate Change (EGMP28)
• Environmental Economics II (ENEP29)
• Energy Markets and Policy (EGMP57)
• Seminar on Environmental Economics (ENEP69)

Summer:

• Dissertation in Environmental Economics (ENEP8D)

Course Director

Dr Frans de Vries

RAE rating

In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), 15 percent of research in Economics at Stirling was rated as ‘World-leading’ and a further 45 percent as ‘Internationally Excellent’.

Strengths

Academic strengths

• The Economics department is among the top 10% of institutions in the field of Environmental Economics (RePEc ranking). 
• All staff have connections with governmental agencies in Europe and the United States.
• All staff have connections with local private firms and public institutions from which students can combine their training with practice.
• The MSc Environmental Economics is a brand new course delivered by one of the top research centres in environmental economics in the UK and Europe.
• All staff have published in top international peer-reviewed journals.

Our staff

Course Director Profile

Frans de Vries joined the University of Stirling in the summer of 2007 as a lecturer after academic positions at the University of Groningen and Tilburg University. He is currently a Reader within the Economics division of the Stirling Management School. He has a broad research interest in environmental economics and is currently leading the three-year project, Designing Markets for Ecosystem Services Delivery (ECO-DELIVERY), which is funded by the European Investment Bank. Frans has also been a consultant for the OECD Environment Directorate on Environmental Policy and Technological Innovation, and for the UK Department of International Development (DFID).

Professor Nick Hanley is in the top five percent of all economists in terms of articles written and is the main author of one of the most widely used textbooks on environmental economics worldwide.

Career opportunities

Employment opportunities span careers in the environmental (as well as energy-related) sectors at both national and international levels, encompassing both the private and public sector. Potential international organisations where environmental economists could get employed are the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, OECD, and the European Union. At the national level employment opportunities could exist at Environmental Protection Agencies and consultancy firms.