LOJK10282U Applied Economics of Forest and Nature

Volume 2019/2020
Education

MSc Programme in Forest Ecosystems, Nature and Society (SUFONAMA)
MSc Programme in Forest and Nature Management
MSc Programme in Forests and Livelihoods (SUTROFOR)

MSc Programme in Environmental and Resource Economics

Content

 

 

Introduction to general economics of biological production and capital investment.

Production economics and investment theory of forests and natural resources:

Fundamentals of forest and nature economics; discounting, investment calculus, opportunity costs, optimal rotation age in timber production and inclusion of amenity values; valuing forestland under the risk of hazards to crop survival; forest economics under uncertainty; forestry and climate change; The economics of continuous cover forestry (close-to-nature forestry).

Welfare economic aspects of forests and natural resources:

Economic evaluation of non-marketed goods and services and its use in CBA

Regulation of forests and natural resources.

 

 

Learning Outcome

 

 

Learning outcome
The course aims at imparting to the students a thorough understanding of economic reasoning and knowledge of how to apply economics as a tool for decision-making on the utilisation of forests and other (renewable) natural resources in rural and urban environments.

When the course is finished, it is expected that the student can/have:

Knowledge:
Describe principles and procedures of forest and natural resource economics
Identify links between the ecological processes and the economic consequences and human goals
Understand and reflect on economic perspectives of long vs short term management decisions
Understand the economic value of different aspects in multiple-use forest and nature management and their possible conflicts or joint production possibilities
Classify and reflect on principles from the theory
Understand the principles of economic valuation of non-marketed goods
Show overview of socio-economic analysis of forest and nature goods

Skills:
Economically apply and analyse theoretical and practical models for forest and nature management
Apply the appropriate theory and methods to relevant economic valuation in forest and nature management
Asses the possibilities and limitations of economic theories and methodologies related to forest and nature management
Understand and reflect critically on socio-economic analyses of forest and nature
Apply economic theory to analyse and model the welfare and business economic values of forests and natural resources

Competences:
Apply principles and procedures of forest and natural resource economics to management decisions, including transferring principles of the economic valuation from one kind of good to another
Evaluate economically different goods and services from the same natural resource and identify possible joint production possibilities or economic conflicts
Discuss the relevance, reliability and validity of different natural resource economic methods
Evaluate socio-economic analysis of forest and nature goods, including distributional effects
Take into account the demands of society when applying bioeconomic models in order to evaluate projects economically

 

 

Literature

Various notes.
Supplementary readings:
For the basics: Wagner (2012): Forestry Economics, a managerial approach. Routledge
For the advanced: Amacher, Ollikainen, Koskela (2009): Economics of Forest Resources. MIT press

For welfare economics: Hanley & Barbier (2009): Pricing naure.

LOJB10225 Indledende økonomi
LNAB10015 Natur- og landskabspolitik
Or similar courses
It is excpected that the students have a basic understandning of economics in society - the main assumptions of a rational economic agent, markets, investment reasoning.
Excel (or similar) will be used as a tool, so some basic skills here are useful. Mathematics is also a tool used

Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree is recommended.
Lectures, theoretical exercises, excursion.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 0,5
  • Lectures
  • 48
  • Preparation
  • 133,5
  • Theory exercises
  • 24
  • Total
  • 206,0
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester

Feedback on exercises handed in will mainly be given collectively. A continuous feedback is used throughout the course based on day-to-day interaction and questioning.

Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 30 min.
Exam topics are known apriori. No preparation time.
Exam registration requirements

One assignment has to be handed in during the course. It is a collection of several exercises that the students have been working with. The assignment has to be approved.

Aid
Only certain aids allowed

The professor's version of the teaching material (i.e. without students' notes) and one half page of student notes for each topic

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Re-exam

As the ordinary exam

If the student has not passed the exam registration requirement of successful completion of the assignment, then this assignment must be handed in two weeks prior to the re-exam. It must be approved before the exam.

Criteria for exam assesment

See learning outcome