Bio-economy
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
None
The exam will take place in written form.
Students will have to write a short essay (about 10 pages long plus bibliography) about a topic of their choice related to the course contents. The topics may concern in-depth analysis of the themes developed during the course, analysis of companies and / or sectors particularly engaged in terms of environmental performance, critical analysis of in-depth articles present in the literature on the topics covered in the course.
Students will have to share the choice with the teacher before starting the writing of the essay and will be followed by the teacher during the writing.
The essay must be delivered by the official day of the exam in each of the scheduled sessions.
The course is an introduction to the study of the basics of economics, with particular attention to elements of interest for graduates in biological disciplines. The course provides tools for a better understanding of the functioning and the dynamics which characterize, in general terms, the elements of an economic system and the behaviors of the subjects who are part of it and make decisions. Mainly microeconomic themes will be introduced, with special reference to those related to the formation and functioning of the demand and supply of goods and services in the context of different market forms. Moreover, themes related to green economy, circular economy and bioeconomy will be introduced. Finally, elements related to the economics of well-being and, in general terms, referred to the relationship between the economy and the environment will be introduced, mainly looking at the contribution of economic disciplines to sustainable development
The lessons will focus on the following topics:
** Economics: what it studies, with what methods and how it has evolved over time.
** The main economic variables and their dynamics: introduction to the concepts of micro and macro economics
** Economic subjects: consumers and firms/demand and supply, organizations and state, behaviors, objectives and responsibilities
** Introduction to the dynamics of consumers and firms decision making processes
** The concept of the market and its dynamics: supply and demand, production and consumption decisions, formation of markets and their functioning and forms
** Elements of welfare economics: public goods, market failures and externalities, solutions to market failures
** Environmental economics, new economies and new economic objectives: how the economy is integrating the attention to the environment, sustainable development and climate change. Introduction to the circular economy and the bioeconomy: new concepts for resources, value chains, market sectors and LCA analysis.
** From the determinants to the limits of growth: the role of innovation and technological progress, the limits of uncontrolled growth in a world where resources are limited.
** Economy, standards of living and well-being: introduction to the concept of quantitative and qualitative indicators, Istat BES indicators, indicators linked to the 17 objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda on sustainable development, the Human Development Index
** Intervening in the dynamics of the economic systems in the light of new sustainability objectives: behaviors and objectives of economic subjects, decisions of the state and of / in the market
Becchetti L., Bruni L., Zamagni S. “Microeconomia. Un testo di economia civile”, il Mulino 2013
Other readings will be proposed during the course and made available in the e-learning platform.
Lessons held by the teacher
The course is structured in lectures with the help of slides and other teaching materials.
Students are encouraged to intervene for clarification or interactive discussion with the teacher.
In addition, as part of the course, examples and empirical case studies will be provided and reference will be made to ongoing debates on some major issues of the economy, with special reference to environmental sustainability, sustainable development and climate change
Professors
Borrowers
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Degree course in: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES