Hello, dear friend, you can consult us at any time if you have any questions, add WeChat: THEend8_
The course involves one piece of coursework. It is:
1) Written assignment: Individual project report (max 2500 words), 100% of final module mark.
This exercise fulfils the following course objectives:
· to give students a critical understanding of the key concepts and terminology of environmental economics,
· to give students an ability to explore the relationships between economic activity and the environment using the key concepts of environmental economics
· to provide a foundation in environmental economics that students can apply in their research or use as a base for more advanced study
Assignment: Apply cost-benefit analysis to examine an environmental issue. You are free to choose the issue you study, as long as your assignment retains a clear environmental focus. The purpose and learning goal of this assignment is to be able to apply an economic tool to examine an environmental issue. Write a 2500-word paper reporting your results.
Two topics for selection: 1. Cost-benefit analysis of wetland restoration 2. Cost-benefit analysis of urban green space
Use of material – In addition to articles and books on your reading list, you are expected to use additional relevant references and data. You are not expected to generate primary data – it is sufficient to analyse or re-analyse data that is publicly available.
Suggested report structure:
1. Introduction
2. The issue to be studied and the literature on the state of art on it
3. The approach or tool to be used
4. Results of the application of the tool to the issue
5. Discussion and conclusions
6. References
7. Appendix: (a) CBA and MCA spreadsheet indicating calculations; (b) if AI is used: describe which AI tool has been used (e.g. ChatGPT-4.0), how this tool has been used (what requests did you provide it with), and what checks you have made to ensure the information provided by AI is genuine.
Make sure you give sufficient weight for your own analysis and reporting and discussion of results in your report.
The assessment of your project (plan and) report will be based on:
· How well you rationalise the choice of focus / topic of your project and how ambitious and relevant it is in relation to the module content;
· How well you rationalise the choice of a tool given your choice of a topic;
· The size of the literature base you draw on and the degree of understanding of the literature manifested in the project report;
· The understanding and mastery of the analytical tool you are deploying in the report, for example in the form. of transparent and convincing rationalisation of analytical choices;
· Your ability to collate sufficient data / evidence for use as in the analysis, and to provide convincing rationalisation of assumptions or judgements needed for your analysis;
· Your ability to generate results that add to our understanding on your chosen topic, including sensitivity analyses etc, and to do so transparently so as to underpin the plausibility of your results;