Economics of the Environment and Development:



Module number: U52038

Module title: Economics of the Environment and Development

Contents

Module introduction 1

Module syllabus 2

Recommended reading list 5

Semester plan synopsis 7

Week 1 - 7

Week 2 - 8

Week 3 - 9

Week 4 - 10

Week 5 - 11

Week 6 - 12

Week 7 - 13

Week 8 - 14

Week 9 - 15

Week 10 - 16

Week 11 - 17

Week 12 - 18

Assessment details 19

Feedback sheet – Self-assessment of group presentation 23

Feedback sheet – Peer observation and assessment of group presentation 24

Feedback sheet – Module leader’s assessment of group presentation 25

Feedback sheet – Module leader’s essay feedback 26

Equal opportunity audit of U52038 27

Regulations 29

Cheating 30

A note on equal opportunities 31

Specimen examination paper 32

Student assessment of the module 33

|Module introduction |Introduction |

| |This module is aimed at examining general issues of environment economics and then taking up the |

| |specific issues of development in the Third World. This module is designed to equip students with |

| |the new advances made in economic theory and policy as a result of the new awareness about |

| |societal concerns regarding the environment. An attempt has been made to balance between the |

| |theoretical/economic thought aspects of the environmental economics and the applied aspects of the|

| |subject, e.g. assessment of the different components of a sustainable development strategy. Third |

| |World development issues are examined by questioning traditional ideas and perspectives of |

| |development. Radical approaches to development economics and policy are also examined. |

| |Past student comments on the module |

| |Most of the positive comments related to the experience of widening of their knowledge of |

| |economics through this module and its relationship to the every day economic issues concerning |

| |environment and development. One rather extreme comment was: “Honestly. It is the most interesting|

| |module I have done at the University – would have loved to pursue it further.” |

| |Most of the students also commented that the overall teaching and learning experience on this |

| |module raised their awareness about equal opportunities in the curriculum (e.g. the gender bias in|

| |development theory and practice). Some students felt encouraged to pursue the independent study |

| |module essay on some of the issues raised during the module teaching. |

| |Module leader contact details |

| |Name: Dr. Pritam Singh |

| |Room: 3 in 11, College Close, Wheatley Campus |

| |Telephone: 01865 485875 |

| |eMail: psingh@brookes.ac.uk |

| |Office hours: Thursday 4 PM to 6 PM |

| | |

|Module syllabus |Module number: U52038 |

| |Module title: Economics of the Environment and Development |

| |Module leader: Dr. Pritam Singh |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |By the end of this module, students will be able to: |

| |1) Knowledge and understanding |

| |Explain the interdependence between the economy and the environment |

| |Outline the economic functions of the environment, the laws of thermodynamics, the concept of |

| |entropy and a single thermodynamic model of the economy |

| |Elaborate the ethics of inter-generational and intra-generational equity and the implications of |

| |this for environmental policy from a futuristic and global perspective |

| |Evaluate the market mechanism vs planned economy approaches towards understanding environmental |

| |degradation and the solutions to the environmental crisis |

| |Discuss the concept of sustainable development and the components of a sustainable development |

| |approach to environmental policy |

| |Compare and contrast Green, Neo-classical and Marxist theoretical approaches to environmental |

| |economics |

| |Critique the traditional indicators of economic welfare and suggest alternative indicators |

| |incorporating the environmental perspective |

| |Identify key indicators of economic development and underdevelopment |

| |Compare and contrast different theoretical approaches to Third World development |

| |Apply these theories to understand the contemporary problems of under- development in the Third |

| |World |

| |Assess any Euro-centric bias in developmental strategies |

| |Analyse the implications of some ‘success’ stories of development (i.e. NICs) for development |

| |strategies of less developed countries |

| |Examine the implications of some Third World problems (e.g. Third World indebtedness) for the |

| |global economy |

| |Explain the concept of human development and assess the significance of this concept for |

| |developmental strategies. |

| |2) Disciplinary/professional skills |

| |Describe the contending theoretical approaches towards understanding the economics of the |

| |environment |

| |Examine critically the usefulness of these theoretical approaches in understanding the |

| |contemporary environmental problems |

| |Deploy the above for suggesting policy measures to deal with the economic aspects of the global |

| |environmental crisis |

| |Describe the various theories that aim to explain the process of economic development and |

| |underdevelopment |

| |Examine critically the usefulness of these theories to understand the actual developmental |

| |patterns |

| |Deploy the above in considering the key contemporary issues of Third World development in a global|

| |context. |

| |3) Transferable skills |

| |Self-management - practised and assessed |

| |Learning - practised, taught and assessed |

| |Communication - practised, taught and assessed |

| |Teamwork - practised and assessed |

| |Problem-solving - practised, taught and assessed |

| |Information technology - practised. |

| |Indicative content |

| |This module combines the study of environment economics, which has global implications with the |

| |study of issues of development pertaining to the Third World. |

| |Environment and the Economy-interdependence |

| |Laws of thermodynamics and the simple thermodynamic model of the economy |

| |Sustainable development, theory and practice |

| |Critical appraisal of theories of Third World underdevelopment |

| |Key issues of Third World development (e.g. Third World Development, IMF/WB paradigm) |

| |Alternative paradigms of development (e.g. Human Development approach). |

| |Student learning experience |

| |Students on this module will participate in a range of learning experiences, including lectures, |

| |seminars, class discussions, group presentations and listening to invited speakers (where |

| |possible) |

| |Students completing the module will have been given the opportunity to: |

| |Attend lectures designed to elaborate the necessary theories and key issues of environmental |

| |economics and Third World development |

| |Attend seminars to examine critically the questions arising from the elaboration of the theories |

| |and environmental and developmental issues in the lectures |

| |Work in pairs/groups to prepare materials for group presentation on theoretical and applied |

| |aspects of environmental and developmental economics |

| |Present the output of their group work to their larger lecture/seminar group. |

| |Learning Time |

| |Class Contact 24 hours |

| |Preparation for classes 28 hours |

| |Follow-up work from classes 28 hours |

| |Preparing coursework 35 hours |

| |TOTAL 150 hours |

|Recommended reading list |Indicative reading list |

| |Jacobs, M (1991), The Green Economy, Pluto. |

| |Anderson, V (1991), Alternative Economic Indicators, Routledge |

| |Wilber, C, K and Jameson, K (1996), The Political Economy of Development and Under-development, |

| |6th ed, McGraw Hill |

| |Todaro, M (2009), Economic Development in the Third World, 10th ed, Addison-Wesley |

| |Meier, G, M (2005), Leading Issues in Economic Development, 8th Edition, OUP |

| |Cypher, J, M and Dietz, J, L (2005), The Process of Economic Development, 2nd ed, Routledge |

| |Recommended reading list |

| |Jacobs, M (1991), The Green Economy, Pluto |

| |Ekins, P and Max-Neaf, M (1992), Real Life Economics, Routledge |

| |Ekins, P (1992), Wealth Beyond Measure, GAIA Books |

| |Pearce et al (1989), Blue Print for a Green Economy, Earthscan |

| |Pearce et al (1995), Blue Print 4: Capturing Global Environmental Value, Earthscan |

| |Martinez-Alier, J (1987), Ecological Economics, Basil Blackwell |

| |Anderson, V (1991), Alternative Economic Indicators, Routledge |

| |Helm, D (1991), Economic Policy Towards the Environment, Blackwell |

| |Singh, N (1989), Economics and the Crisis of Ecology, Bellen (London) |

| |Bowers, J (1997), Sustainability and Environmental Economics, Longman |

| |Singh, Pritam (2008) Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy, |

| |Routledge, London/New York |

| |Wilber, C, K and Jameson, K, P (1996), The Political Economy of Development and Under-development,|

| |6th ed, McGraw Hill |

| |Todaro, M (2009), Economic Development in the Third World, 9th ed, Addison-Wesley |

| |Meier, G, M (2005), Leading Issues in Economic Development, 8th ed, OUP |

| |Crow, B et al (1988), Survival and Change in the Third World , Polity |

| |Agarwala, A, N and Singh, S, P (1982), The Economics of Underdevelopment, OUP |

| |Cypher, J, M and Dietz, J, L (2005), The Process of Economic Development, 2nd ed, Routledge |

|Semester plan synopsis |Topic |

|Week 1 - |Environment and the economy – interdependence and integration. Introduction to the issues in |

| |environment economics. |

| |Environmental economics – neo-classical approach and its critical evaluation. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To understand the interdependence between the economy and the environment |

| |To grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the free market approach of the neo-classical economics. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar this week will discuss the desirability of green economics and elaboration of the key |

| |introductory themes of the lecture. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Jacobs Introduction. |

| |Helm Introduction. |

| |Markandya, Green Economics |

| |British Gas (Key Environmental Issues: No. 8). |

|Week 2 - |Topic |

| |Economic functions of the environment and environmental degradation. The laws of thermodynamics, |

| |the concept of entropy and environmental degradation, a simple thermodynamic model of the economy.|

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To understand the economic functions of the environment |

| |To understand the application of the laws of thermodynamics to the environment |

| |To acquire a basic introduction to a simple thermodynamic model of the economy. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar this week will discuss the concept of ‘externality’ and its relevance to environmental|

| |economics. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Jacobs, Chapter 1 and Chapter 9 |

| |David Pearce ‘Economics of the Environment’, Economics Spring 1991. |

|Week 3 - |Topic |

| |The ethics of inter-generational equity and its consequences for environmental policy. |

| |The concept of sustainable development and the components of the sustainable development approach |

| |towards planning an environmental policy. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To understand the significance of the moral economy of inter-generational equity |

| |To link the goal of inter-generational equity to environmental sustainability |

| |To understand the meaning of ‘sustainable development’ |

| |To disaggregate the components of sustainable development path |

| |To become aware of the main instruments to attain the goal of sustainable development. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |To discuss the compatibility between the goals of inter-generational equity and intra-generational|

| |equity and the alternative scenarios of ‘zero growth’ and ‘maximum growth’ and the environmentally|

| |informed path of sustainable development. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Jacobs, Chapters 2, 3 & 4. |

| |Beckerman, W (1997), ‘Debate: Intergenerational Equity and the Environment’, The Journal of |

| |Political Philosophy, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp392-405 |

| |Jacobs, Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8. |

| |Pearce (1989), Chapter 1, esp p47, Chapter 2 p18-23 |

| |Paul Ekins “Limits to Growth” and “Sustainable Development”. Grappling with Ecological Realities |

| |in Jameson & Wilber, Sixth edition. |

|Week 4 - |Topic |

| |The ‘deep ecology / deep Green’ approach to the environment and the ideology of ‘industrialism’. |

| |The political economy of the Green economic programme – potentialities and limitation. |

| |A Marxist critique of the green perspective. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To understand the ideology of industrialism in capitalism and post-capitalist economies |

| |To become aware of the green movement’s criticism of the ideology of industrialism |

| |To understand the key elements of the Marxist and Green approaches to the environment |

| |To compare and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Marxist and Green approaches |

| |To examine critically the feasibility of convergence between Marxist and Green approaches to the |

| |environment. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar will discuss the question: Is there a conflict between technological development and |

| |environmental sustainability? And will be aimed at assessing the positive and negative outcomes of|

| |the Red-Green debate on the environment. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Jacobs, Chapter 4 |

| |Ekins, p72-81, p30-41, p180. |

| |Singh the whole book but especially the last chapter |

| |A Red-Green Dialogue (1995), What on Earth is to be done? Manchester |

| |Jacobs (1995), Sustainability and Socialism, SERA, London |

| |Redclift, M (1984), Development and the Environmental Crisis, Red or Green Alternatives? London |

| |Redclift, M, Sustainable Development – Exploring the Contradictions |

| |Pepper, D, Eco-Socialism (Chapter on Red-Green debate). |

| |Benton, T (ed.) (1996), The Greening of Marxism, Guildford Press, New York/London |

| |Kula, E (1998), History of Environmental Economic Thought, Routledge, Chapter 4, Socialism, |

| |Marxism and the Environment |

|Week 5 - |Topic |

| |North-South inequality and the global environmental crisis. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To understand the main features of the economic inequality between the developed and the |

| |developing economies |

| |To locate the gravity of the Third World debt in the context of North-South economic gap |

| |To explore the environmental consequences of the Third World debt. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar will further explore the link between Third World debt, environmental degradation in |

| |Third World and their consequences for the global environmental crisis. The seminar will also |

| |discuss the environmental implications of some of the policy options like ‘debt for nature swap’ |

| |available to developed countries to lessen the debt burden on poor countries. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Jacobs, Chapter 15 |

| |Todaro, Chapter 11 and Chapter 14. |

|Week 6 - |Topic |

| |The concept of welfare from an environmental perspective – the critique of GNP as a measure of |

| |economic welfare. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To become aware of the limitations of GNP as a measure of human welfare |

| |To become acquainted with some environmentally informed indicators of welfare. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar will assess the usefulness of cost-benefit approach in decision making concerning |

| |environmental projects |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Jacobs, Chapters 16 & 17 on Cost-Benefit, and Chapters 18 & 19 on GNP |

| |Anderson, especially Chapter 8 |

|Week 7 - |Topic |

| |Meaning of development, need for the study of development economics, different approaches to the |

| |study of economic development. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To understand the meaning of underdevelopment |

| |To become aware of the alternative paradigms of development. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar will focus on the ‘human capability’ approach articulated by Amartya Sen. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |On features of Underdevelopment, Todaro, Chapter 2 |

| |On meaning of development Jameson & Wilber, 6th/5th ed, Chapter 1 |

|Week 8 - |Topic |

| |The development and underdevelopment – two-way relationship. Dependency theories. |

| |Euro-centric models of economic development and some Third Worldist Critiques of these models. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To become aware of the key contributions of the dependency school |

| |To acquire critical appreciation of the dependency school |

| |To understand some of the Euro-centric biases in the models of economic development |

| |To explore some positive outcomes of these Third World Critiques of the Euro-centric models of |

| |development |

| |To highlight some negative features of these Third World Critiques. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar will examine the ‘deindustrialisation’ debate concerning India and some features of |

| |the development path of Brazil and Chile as highlighted by Andre Gunder Frank, and focus on the |

| |dangers of anti-westernism in some Third World Critiques in justifying some anti-developmentalist |

| |practices in the Third World. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Papers by Paul Baran and Andre Gunder Frank in Jameson & Wilber 5th/6th editions. |

| |Paper by Diane Elson in Ben Crow et all (ed) Survival and Change in The Third World. |

| |Paper by Howard Wiarda in Wilber and Jameson, 5th edn Ch 4. |

| |Book review of Ozay Mehmet Westernising the Third World: The Euro-centricity of Economic |

| |Development Theories by Pritam Singh in Development in Practice vol 6, No 2, 1996. |

|Week 9 - |Topic |

| |IMF – World Bank’s structural adjustment and liberalisation programme. |

| |Third World indebtedness. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To become aware of the main content of the IMF-WB programme of structural adjustment and economic |

| |liberalisation |

| |To examine critically the consequences of IMF-WB programmes for Third World economies |

| |To understand the reasons behind the growth of Third World debt |

| |To become aware of its impact on TW economies |

| |To examine some of the initiatives to reduce this debt burden. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |To explore the historical origin of IMF-WB programmes, their differences and convergence |

| |The seminar will also examine some of the ideological components of the programme and recent |

| |shifts in the programme |

| |The seminar will focus on some of the more recent campaigns to reduce/abolish Third World debt. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Todaro, Chapter 14 |

| |Robert Devlin’s paper ‘Options for Tackling the External Debt’ in Jameson et al, Chapter 16. |

| |Cypher & Dietz, Chapter 17 |

|Week 10 - |Topic |

| |The development strategies of the NICs and the implications of these for the lesser developed |

| |countries’ developmental strategies. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To understand the differences and similarities in the ‘success story’ of NICs |

| |To examine critically the suitability of NICs model for other developing economies. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar will focus on some of the unique conditions that led to the economic success of NICs |

| |and the difficulties in duplicating this model in other TW economies. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |John Page paper in Jameson & Wilber in 6th ed only, Chapter 14 |

| |Clive Hamilton in Jameson & Wilber in 6th/5th ed |

| |Michael Prowse ‘Miracles beyond the free market’, FT 26.4.93. |

|Week 11 - |Topic |

| |Gender bias in the developmental strategies. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To become aware of the male bias in theories and policies of economic development |

| |To understand the vital role of women in the economic development process. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar will highlight the significance of Kerala’s model of development and the role of high |

| |female literacy in this experience. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Diane Elson paper in Jameson 6th ed only, Chapter 5 |

| |Guy Standing paper in Jameson 6th ed only, Chapter 24 |

| |Deniz Kaniyoti paper in Jameson 5th/6th ed both |

| |Todaro, Chapter 10 |

| |Cypher & Dietz pages on ‘Gender’ entry in Index p 599. |

| |(Note: The teaching in Weeks 11 and 12 is subject to change in view of the need for revision and |

| |examination. Any instructions on this will be provided in the class room) |

|Week 12 - |Topic |

| |The concept of human development and its implications for Third World development strategies. |

| |Learning outcomes |

| |To understand the meaning and significance of human development |

| |To explore the implications of incorporating human development in the developmental policies and |

| |programmes for Third World economics. |

| |Seminar tasks |

| |The seminar will compare the human development index with per capita index of countries around the|

| |world to see the convergence/divergence between the two indices. |

| |Reading/activity |

| |Sen, A, Chapter 1 |

| |Goulet, D & Wilber, C, paper (Chapter 26) |

| |Peter Gall paper (Chapter 31) and Keith Griffin and John Knight (Chapter 38). All these papers are|

| |in Jameson & Wilber (both 5th & 6th editions). |

| |Note: There might be some change in the programme for week 11/12 keeping in mind the examination|

| |and the revision schedule. |

|Assessment details |Coursework, weighting 50% |

| | |

| |The course work will consist of two equal parts. One part will be group presentation and the other|

| |part will be an individual essay. |

| |Both the pieces of course work will count for 25% marks each of the total module marks. |

| |Learning outcomes assessed |

| |Group Presentation |

| |1c, 1d, 1g, 1h, 1l, 1m, 2b, 2f, 3a, 3c and 3d. |

| |Individual Essay |

| |1a, 1f, 1g, 1i, 2c, 2e, 3b, 3c and 3e. |

| |Assignment task – Group presentation |

| |The group presentation will test student ability for teamwork to learn and present their joint |

| |work to their peers. |

| |Schedule for Coursework |

| |In week 2, groups for group presentation will be formed. |

| |Group presentations should normally start from week 3. |

| |Each week in the seminar time, one group presentation will be made. The topics for group |

| |presentation will be finalised in week 2 itself. |

| |Assignment task – Individual essay |

| |The individual essay will test student ability to use their understanding of theories and |

| |policies. It will be a short essay (e.g. 1,500 words) and there will be a choice between two |

| |topics. One topic will cover the area of environmental economics and the other will pertain to the|

| |area of development economics. |

| |Assessment criteria |

| |Keeping in mind the learning outcomes as specified above for the two pieces of course work, the |

| |following aspects will be considered in assessing the two pieces of course work. |

| |Assessment criteria – Group presentation |

| |Introducing the members of the group and the likely division of labour during the presentation. |

| |Quality of the research, which has gone into producing the materials for the presentation. |

| |The presentation itself. The clarity and interestingness of the presentation. Teamwork, |

| |collectiveness and co-operativeness of the presentation work. |

| |Time management. A three member group presentation should not last for more than 20 minutes, i.e. |

| |approx. 7 minutes per student on an average. A four member group will, therefore, take |

| |approximately 28 minutes. Discussion for another 10 minutes approximately. |

| |Handling of the questions/comments from the seminar group. |

| |Assessment criteria – Individual essay |

| |The quality of the research in writing the essay – i.e. the content. |

| |The structure and presentation. Introduction, main part, conclusion. |

| |Logical coherence and empirical substantiation. |

| |Referencing of the sources used. |

| |Hand-in date and instructions – Individual essay |

| |The deadline for submitting the individual essay is Thursday, Week 10 (1.00pm). The essay should |

| |be handed to the Undergraduate Office of the Business School. Please note that the essay should be|

| |just simply stapled and should not be enclosed in any special (fancy!) folders. Such folders |

| |create unnecessary waste burden on the environment and also waste lecturer’s scarce time |

| |resources. |

| |The title page should give the following details: |

| |Essay title |

| |Module number and title, semester and year |

| |Student number and name |

| |Number of words (appendices and bibliography are not included in calculating the number of words).|

| |(Note: You should also attach in front of the essay ‘Feedback Sheet-Module Leader’s essay |

| |feedback’ which can be found in the later part of this module guide. Write your name in the |

| |feedback sheet). |

| |Feedback sheet – Group presentation |

| |There will be a four-fold feedback on the group presentation component of the course work. |

| |Immediately after every group presentation, all the groups, including the one that has made the |

| |presentation, shall be asked to assess the presentation in their group. Their feedback and |

| |group-agreed mark will be handed over to the module leader. The feedback and the self-assessed |

| |mark by the group making the presentation, is aimed to introduce an element of self-assessment in |

| |the marking process. This is also aimed to ensure an opportunity for self-reflection. The feedback|

| |from the other groups is aimed to incorporate an element of moderation in this component of the |

| |course work and an opportunity for peer observation. The module leader will collect the |

| |self-assessment sheet and the peer observed assessment sheets for taking these into consideration |

| |later on for determining the overall assessment. Without looking at these two components of the |

| |assessment, the module leader will then give a very brief and quick feedback on the presentation. |

| |This will be followed by a more detailed feedback in a meeting with the group making the |

| |presentation. This meeting will follow immediately after the group presentation is over and |

| |self-assessment/peer observation is completed. The module leader will then give a tentative mark, |

| |which will be finalised only when all the group presentations in the term have been made and the |

| |module leader has an over-all comparative view of all the group presentations. Only the final mark|

| |will be communicated to the group. This will be done in week 11 or 12. |

| |The four-fold feedback mechanism can be summarised as (i) self-assessment, (ii) peer observation |

| |and assessment, (iii) module leader’s on the spot reaction, (iv) detailed feedback and comparative|

| |view. In deciding the final mark, the module leader will take into consideration the inputs from |

| |(i) and (ii) but these will not be binding on him. His mark will be the final mark. |

| |Self-assessment form, peer observation and assessment form and module leader’s assessment form for|

| |the group presentation tasks of the course work are included in this module guide. |

| |Feedback – Individual essay |

| |Keeping in mind the learning outcomes for the individual essay, the marking criteria has been |

| |developed. The feedback form for the essay has been developed on the basis of this marking |

| |criteria and is included in this module guide. |

| |Examination, weighting 50% |

| |Format |

| |The examination will be for two hours. The students would be expected to answer 3 questions out of|

| |a total of 8. All questions will have equal weighting. The examination will assess student |

| |understanding of theories and key issues of environmental and development economics. |

| |Outcomes assessed |

| |1a, 1b, 1e, 1f. 1i, 1j, 1k, 1n, 2a, 2d, 3b, 3c and 3e. |

|Feedback sheet – Self-assessment of group presentation |

|U52038 Economics of the environment and development |

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|Presentation: clarity, teamwork, interesting |

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|Feedback sheet – Peer observation and assessment of group presentation |

|U52038 Economics of the environment and development |

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|Feedback sheet – Module leader’s assessment of group presentation |

|U52038 Economics of the environment and development |

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|Marking criteria |

|Poor |

|Fair |

|Good |

|Very good |

|Excellent |

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|Introduction and division of labour |

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|Quality of research |

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|Presentation: clarity, teamwork, interesting |

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|Time management |

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|Handling of questions |

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|Comments |

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|Mark |

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|Week |

|Group members |

|Topic |

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|Marking criteria |

|Poor |

|Fair |

|Good |

|Very Good |

|Excellent |

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|Introduction and division of labour |

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|Quality of research |

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|Presentation: clarity, teamwork, interesting |

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|Time management |

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|Handling of questions |

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|Comments: |

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|Mark……/……. |

|Feedback sheet – Module leader’s essay feedback |

|U52038 Economics of the environment and development |

|Name |

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|Marking criteria |

|Poor |

|Fair |

|Good |

|Very good |

|Excellent |

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|The quality of the research in writing the essay, i.e. the content |

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|The structure and presentation. Introduction, main part, conclusion |

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|Logical coherence and empirical substantiation |

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|Referencing of the sources used |

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|Comments |

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|Mark |

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|Equal opportunity audit of U52038 |

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|Strongly agree |

|Agree |

|Neither agree or disagree |

|Disagree |

|Strongly disagree |

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|Content of syllabus/lectures |

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|The content of the syllabus on this module raised awareness of equal opportunity issues |

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|The examples used in the lectures raised awareness of equal opportunity issues |

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|Teaching methods/styles |

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|The teaching style on the module took into account the needs of diverse groups of students for equal participation. |

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|The use of teaching aids (e.g. audio-visual aids) was helpful to students of different abilities/backgrounds |

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|The teaching style encouraged students from diverse abilities/backgrounds to ask questions |

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|The teaching style encouraged students from diverse abilities/backgrounds to make contributions |

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|Group presentations |

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|The self-selecting method of group formation for group presentation work encouraged equal participation |

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|This method of group formation led to gender bias in the group being formed |

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|This method led to ethnicity bias in group formation |

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|This method led to other biases in group formation |

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|The formation of groups by the lecturer is preferable over self-selection method from the viewpoint of E)’s |

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|Reading list |

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|From the reading list, the gender or ethnicity of the authors was clear |

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|To highlight the contributions of women and ethnic minority scholars, the first name should be written in full |

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|Overall |

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|The teaching and learning experience on this module raised my overall awareness about equal opportunities in curriculum |

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|Any additional comment regarding EO aspects of the module. |

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|Regulations |Late submission of work |

| |This is covered by the regulations of the Economics field, set out in the Economics field guide, |

| |which states that |

| | |

| |Any student course work submitted after the deadline will receive a zero mark unless it is decided|

| |by the model leader that there has been an acceptable delay. Acceptability might well be linked |

| |to student ill-health supported by a medical certificate or some other quite exceptional |

| |circumstances which has been reported and agreed by the module leader before the deadline, or as |

| |soon as possible thereafter. |

| | |

| |Students who wish to argue that there has been an acceptable delay should discuss this with their |

| |personal tutor who might see fit to provide written support for the student. |

| | |

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| | |

| |Examples of unacceptable delay are computer crashes and too much work for other modules. |

| | |

| |Word count |

| |This is covered by the regulation of the Economics Field set out in the Economics field guide, |

| |which state that: ‘where a maximum word limit is given this should not be exceeded. Words in |

| |excess of the maximum will not normally be read’. |

| | |

| Cheating |All assessments are intended to determine the skills, abilities, understanding and knowledge of |

| |each of the individual students undertaking the assessment. Cheating is defined as obtaining an |

| |unfair academic advantage and any student found using any form of cheating, attempting to cheat or|

| |assisting someone else to cheat may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the |

| |University's Disciplinary Procedure. The University takes this issue very seriously and students |

| |have been expelled or had their degrees withheld for cheating in assessments. If you are having |

| |difficulty with your work it is important to seek help from your tutor rather than be tempted to |

| |use unfair means to gain marks. Do not risk losing your degree and all the work you have done. |

| |The University's regulations define a number of different forms of cheating, although any form of |

| |cheating is strictly forbidden. These are: |

| |Submitting other people's work as your own - either with or without their knowledge. This includes|

| |copying in examinations; using notes or unauthorised materials in examinations |

| |Impersonation - taking an assessment on behalf of or pretending to be another student, or allowing|

| |another person to take an assessment on your behalf or pretend to be you |

| |Plagiarism - taking or using another person's thoughts, writings or inventions as your own. To |

| |avoid plagiarism you must make sure that quotations from whatever source must be clearly |

| |identified and attributed at the point where they occur in the text of your work by using one of |

| |the standard conventions for referencing. The Library has a leaflet about how to reference your |

| |work correctly and your tutor can also help you. It is not enough just to list sources in a |

| |bibliography at the end of your essay or dissertation if you do not acknowledge the actual |

| |quotations in the text. Neither is it acceptable to change some of the words or the order of |

| |sentences if, by failing to acknowledge the source properly, you give the impression that it is |

| |your own work |

| |Collusion - except where written instructions specify that work for assessment may be produced |

| |jointly and submitted as the work of more than one student, you must not collude with others to |

| |produce a piece of work jointly, copy or share another student's work or lend your work to another|

| |student in the reasonable knowledge that some or all of it will be copied |

| |Duplication - submitting work for assessment that is the same as, or broadly similar to, work |

| |submitted earlier for academic credit, without acknowledgement of the previous submission |

| |Falsification - the invention of data, its alteration, its copying from any other source, or |

| |otherwise obtaining it by unfair means, or inventing quotations and/or references. |

| |Stephen Marshall, Academic Registrar |

| |May 2002 |

|A note on equal opportunities |The Business School aims, within its courses, to provide equal access to learning to students from|

| |diverse backgrounds, irrespective of their gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, age, |

| |religion and maturity. If you feel this module is not fulfilling this aim, please take it up with |

| |the module leader, or ask your student representative to do so. Feel free also to comment on this |

| |aspect of the module in the evaluation. |

|Specimen examination paper |2 hours |

| |Maximum marks: 50 |

| |Answer three questions. Answer one question from Part A and one question from Part B and one |

| |question from either Part A or Part B. All questions carry equal marks. |

| |Part A |

| |Discuss the three functions of the environment and show their inter-dependence. |

| |Discuss the concepts of inter-generational and intra-generational equity in sustainable |

| |development and show how the two types of equity are related to each other. |

| |Discuss the points of convergence and divergence between the Marxist and the Green approaches to |

| |the environment. |

| |Explain how the inequality between the rich and the poor countries contributes to global |

| |environmental degradation. |

| |Part B |

| |Discuss the importance of Amartya Sen’s thesis that development is essentially about ‘expansion of|

| |human capabilities’ in the context of the literature on the meaning of development. |

| |Evaluate critically the claims of some feminist economists that the traditional models of economic|

| |development have a male bias in their theoretical assumptions and practical development |

| |implications. |

| |Describe some of the main features of World Bank-IMF structural adjustment-liberalisation strategy|

| |for solving the problems of underdeveloped economies. Give your comments on the adequacy of this |

| |strategy. |

| |Discuss the significance of the experience of NICs for the development strategies of the |

| |underdeveloped countries in the Third World. |

|Student assessment of the module |Module U52038 Economics of the environment and development |

| |Write down your comments on the lecture programme: |

| | |

| | |

| |Write down your comments on the seminar programme: |

| | |

| | |

| |Comment on the ‘group presentation’ programme: |

| | |

| | |

| |What do you feel about the coursework for an individual essay? |

| | |

| | |

| |What do you think of the main textbooks (i.e. Jacobs, Jameson & Wilber, Todaro)? |

| | |

| | |

| |Which of the other books from the recommended list did you use and how much? |

| | |

| | |

| |Comment on the library resources for this module |

| | |

| | |

| |Comment on the incorporation of equal opportunities in the course content and teaching methods on |

| |the module |

| | |

| | |

| |Overall comment about the module |

-----------------------

Business School

Module Number: U52038

Module Title: Economics of the Environment and Development

Student Guide

Semester 1, Year 2009/2010

Module Leader:Dr. Pritam Singh

Room: 3 in 11, College Close

Telephone: 01865 485875

Email: psingh@brookes.ac.uk

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