ECONOMICS

The module aims to introduce the principles of economic analysis, studying the relationships that production and consumption activities have with the environment, as well as the forms of regulation of the markets to guide development towards sustainability. The course is divided into three parts. In the first, attention is paid to the functioning of the economic system and to the various development measures, looking above all at the indicators that take the issue of sustainability as central. In the second part, concepts, tools and techniques of economic and financial analysis of the environment are analyzed, with applications to the evaluation of investments in mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The third part focuses on the functioning of public utility industries with specific attention to the integrated water cycle and the collection and treatment of waste.

- How a complex economic system is articulated and how it works
- How economic development is measured from a sustainability perspective
- What are the advantages of the exchange and the reasons for the efficiency of the markets
- What are the limits of the market and the main regulatory tools
- How to measure the economic impacts of climate change
- Building models of economic evaluation of environmental investments
- Know the specificity of the production and regulation system of public utility industries

Basic knowledge in mathematical and statistics

- A functioning model of the economic system: the circular flow chart
- Gross domestic product, Human development, Well being: measures of development and sustainability
- Demand, supply, allocative efficiency
- Cost functions and production optimization
- Externalities, public goods, imperfect competition, information a-symmetries
- Models for regulating externalities and imperfect competition
- Production, regulation and innovation in public utility industries
- Charging systems in the water and waste management service

lecture notes by the teacher

Oral examination on at least three course topics.

In-presence lessons with slides and comments.

Italian

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Circular economy, innovation, work" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development