72492 - Economic and Environmental Policy

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the students will handle the main tools of analysis related to economic and environmental policy, with particular refernce to the Italian and European context. In particular, students will be able to: - Unfold the recent economic facts of Italy and of the European Union; - Identify the main economic policy acts approved at the national and european levels; - Critically analyse policy goals and objectives in light of the main theoretical models; - Evaluate models developed to tackle environmental problems; - Jointly analyse the empirical evidence with the theory of envirionmantal policy.

Course contents

Course divided in two parts. Lectures are scheduled in the first semester.

Part I - The economic policy in Italy and Europe (Prof. Paolo Figini).

1. Monday 23 September, h.9-12: Introduction to economic policy: theories, goals and instruments;
2. Wednesday 25 September, h. 12-15: The global economy: dynamics and open issues;
3. Monday 30 September, h. 9-12: The economic policy of neo-liberalism (1980-2008);
4. Wednesday 2 October, h. 12-15: The global economic governance: international organizations and economic powers;
5. Monday 7 October, h. 9-12: The financial and economic crisis (2008);
6. Wednesday 9 October, h. 12-15: The economic policies to counteract the crisis (2008-2015);
7. Wednesday 16 October, h. 12-15: The European Union economic policy.
8. Monday 21 October, h. 9-12: The economic policy of neo-protectionism and populism;
9. Wednesday 23 October, h. 12-15: The Italian economic policy;
10. Monday 28 October, h. 9-12: The future of global economy.

Part II - The environmental policy in Italy and Europe (Prof. Fabio Zagonari).

1. The optimal use of renewable resources;
2. The optimal use of non-renewable resources;
3. The optimal level of intra-country pollution;
4. The optimal level of trans-country pollution;
5. The main environmental policy tools: taxes, subsidies, standards, permits;
6. The sustainable development;
7. The evolution of the EU environmental policy;
8. The pillars of the EU environmental policy;
9. The instruments of the EU environmental policy;
10. The jurisdiction of the EU environmental policy.

Readings/Bibliography

• Part I:

Balducci, R., Candela, G., Scorcu A.E. “Introduzione alla politica economica”, chps. 7 e 8;

B. Bortolotti,Crescere insieme, per un'economia giusta, Laterza, Bari, 2013 (Chps. 1, 2).

P. Montalbano, U. Triulzi, La politica economica internazionale, UTET, Torino (Chps. 1, 2.1, 5, 6.1, 6.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 10.6, 11.5, 11.6, 13.4).

U. Marani, R.R. Canale, O. Napolitano, P. Foresti, Politica Economica: La Teoria e l'Unione Europea, Hoepli, Milano (Chps. 6-16).

P. De Grauwe, Economia dell'Unione Monetaria, Il Mulino, Bologna.

J. Stiglitz, La globalizzazione e i suoi oppositori, Einaudi, Torino, 2002.

Notes and other material uploaded in "Insegnamenti Online".

• Part II:

R.K. Turner, D.W. Pearce, I. Bateman, Economia ambientale, Il Mulino;

L Scichilone, L'Europa e la sfida ecologica: storia della politica ambientale europea, Il Mulino

Zagonari, F. (2017) Coherence, causality, and effectiveness of the EU environmental policy system: results of complementary statistical and econometric analyses, Environmental and Resource Economics

Zagonari, F. (2016) Four sustainability paradigms for environmental management: a methodological analysis and an empirical study based on 30 Italian industries, Sustainability

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures.

Assessment methods

Written test on the whole programme. It is possible to sit the exam in the mid-term tests, at the end of each part of lectures. Each test counts for 50% of the final mark, and the minimum mark to pass the mid-term test is 16/30.

VERY IMPORTANT: if the exam is passed, it is possible to reject the mark only once.

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Figini

See the website of Fabio Zagonari