ENSn4651 Economic Instruments of Environmental policy

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Vojtěch Kotecký, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Jan Činčera, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jan Činčera, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Kateřina Hendrychová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! HEN651 Environment Policy Instruments &&!NOW( HEN651 Environment Policy Instruments )&&TYP_STUDIA(N)
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 33 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/33, only registered: 0/33, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/33
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Generally speaking, the course should teach the students to observe the economy through environmental lenses, and to understand the environment through the eyes of economy. It will focus on measures (instruments) used by public policy (i.e. the government) to make sure that two pairs of eyes become one, and, equally importantly, to prevent them from turning into four. The course should not teach students a detailed overview of economic instruments in Czech environmental policy, a catalogue of laws, rates, payers and collectors. We will, of course, discuss environmental tax reform and emission trading schemes, mandatory recycling, farm subsidies, mining royalties and other programs; however, they will serve primarily as case studies and examples.
Learning outcomes
Students should understand why and how public policy instruments influence environmentally relevant choices of companies and households.
Syllabus
  • I. Purpose of economic instruments: reducing economy’s environmental footprint.
  • II. An overview of key economic instruments, their use and utilisation.
  • III. Efficiency, costs, effectiveness and moral constrains.
  • IV. Economic context, practical solutions and political process.
Literature
  • KEVIN KENNEDY, MICHAEL OBEITER, AND NOAH KAUFMAN: PUTTING A PRICE ON CARBON: A HANDBOOK FOR U.S. POLICYMAKERS, World resources institute, April 2015
  • Cameron Hepburn, Jacquelyn Pless, and David Popp: Policy Brief Encouraging Innovation that Protects Environmental Systems: Five Policy Proposals. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, volume 12, issue 1, Winter 2018, pp. 154–169, Advance Access P
  • N. Gregory Mankiw: Smart Taxes: An Open Invitation to Join the Pigou Club. Department of Economics, 223 Littauer Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 2138, USA.
  • Stefan Speck (EEA) and Susanna Paleari (ETC/WMGE): Environmental taxation and EU environmental policies, EEA Report No 17/2016, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016
  • Lawrence H. Goulder and Ian W. H. Parry: Instrument Choice in Environmental Policy , Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, volume 2, issue 2, summer 2008, pp. 152–174 Advance Access publication on July 7, 2008
Teaching methods
The lectures will take two-hour lectures every two weeks. Lectures are combined with brief group discussions, group activities and homework.
Assessment methods
Participation in at least two group activities is mandatory; evaluation of the course is based on asessements of seminar paper.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every other week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/ENSn4651