ISEN 407 - Energy and Sustainability Economics
Core/Elective: Core
Credits: 0.5 (to be paired with either ISEN 408 or ISEN 409)
Quarter Taught: Fall
Synopsis:
This course will review the underlying economic theory driving core resource markets -including electricity, gas, water, and transportation. It will also include a discussion of issues that are unique to energy generation and environmental impact, as well as a deep dive by resource type. Students will then apply the underlying economic theory driving core resource markets to issues that are unique to energy generation and environmental impact.
Course Objectives:
This course will provide students with an understanding of consumer and supplier rationale for economic behavior in energy, water and transportation markets, as a basis for applying the tools of economic analysis to discrete decision-making. Students should be able to:
- Build a basic understanding of the economics that govern energy, water and transportation systems
- Understand supply and demand in natural resource commodity markets
- Understand how market outcomes have many benefits but also some costs
- Understand the possible benefits and drawbacks of government regulation
- Understand varied ownership structures and economics for “utilities” (IOU, Muni, Co-op) and how this can influence decision making
- Develop analytical capabilities to compare and contrast substitutes (e.g. energy sources)
- Learn different rate structures and how they provide incentives or disincentives for investment and production
- Identify unrealized or non-market costs related to risk, environmental externalities, and climate
- Consider the short-term vs. long-term impacts of resource investment and production, and how different economic agents may behave differently under the same conditions
- Be able to identify market characteristics that are unique to specific resources