GY473 Half Unit
Economic Development and the Environment
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Charles Palmer
Availability
This course is compulsory on the MSc in Environmental Policy, Technology and Health (Environment and Development) (LSE and Peking University). This course is available on the MPhil/PhD in Environmental Policy and Development, MSc in Development Management (Political Economy), MSc in Development Management (Political Economy) (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Environment and Development, MSc in Environmental Economics and Climate Change, MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation, MSc in Environmental Policy, Technology and Health (Environmental Economics and Climate Change) (LSE and Peking University), MSc in Environmental Policy, Technology and Health (Environmental Policy and Regulation) (LSE and Peking University) and MSc in Geographic Data Science. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: Priority: MSc Environment and Development, MSc Environmental Policy & Regulation, Geography & Environment, then other students. Priority is typically for students enrolled in Geography and Environment programmes, or joint degree programmes, however course specific availability is indicated via the 'Availability section' on the LSE course guide webpages. Guidance on how to apply to individual controlled access courses can also be found on LSE for You in the Graduate Course Selection system.
Please note: The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If a course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Department's discretion and a waiting list may be created. It is advised to have an alternative course in mind as a back-up in case you are unable to secure your first-choice course selection.
Deadline for application: Further guidance and information on course selection for Geography and Environment courses (GY4xx) will be available on the Geography and Environment Course Selection Moodle page which will go live from Monday 8 September and will be updated with course availability information daily throughout the course selection period. This page includes information on the timeline for course selection decisions in the Geography and Environment Department as well as the individual course application processes and requirements
A list of all taught master's courses in this Department are listed on LSE's course guide webpages.
For queries contact: geog.env@lse.ac.uk
The number of students that can be accommodated is limited. If the course is over-subscribed, places will be allocated at the Department’s discretion and a waiting list may be created. For further details, please contact your relevant Programme Coordinator.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
The course is taught from the perspective of applied economics, and is principally designed for students with beginner to intermediate levels of economic knowledge and understanding. Students who have not completed a course in first year undergraduate level Economics might find it useful to audit EC1A5 Microeconomics I.
Course content
With a focus on individuals and countries defined as low- and middle-income, the starting point for this course is recognition of the importance of resource use and the environment as building blocks for economic development. Using concepts and tools of environmental and development economics, the course aims to impart knowledge and develop critical thinking about a number of selected topics concerned with the interface between environment and development, at both the macro- and micro-scale. Central to this is an examination of the trade-offs and complementarities between environment and development.
The course is structured over 10 weeks. After an introduction, the course begins with an emphasis on the overarching role of institutions in governing development paths and the way in which resources are managed. It then concentrates on the sustainability of the national and global economy, focusing on the role of managing wealth in shaping development prospects, whether green growth can deliver sustainability, at the macro-scale. The course then considers several topics that explore different resources and areas of sustainability policy at the micro-scale. Specifically, the demand for and supply of key ecosystem services - food, water and energy - have important implications for resource use and the environment. They also serve as building blocks for economic development. The impacts of current development trends on natural and man-made ecosystems, in particular, forest and urban ecosystems, are examined at the end of course along with the role of global trade in explaining resource use and environmental degradation.
Teaching
15 hours of lectures and 13.5 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.
In the Department of Geography and Environment, teaching will be delivered through a combination of classes/seminars, pre-recorded lectures, live online lectures and other supplementary interactive live activities.
Formative assessment
Students will be expected to produce 1 exercise in the AT.
There will be a piece of formative work set during AT to help students prepare for the exam in WT.
Indicative reading
- G Atkinson et al. (eds.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, Edward Elgar, 2014.
- R Lopez and M Toman (eds.), Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability. Columbia University Press, 2006.
- E Barbier, Economics for a fragile planet, Cambridge University Press, 2022.
- W Adams, Green development: environment and sustainability in a developing world, 2009
- A Banerjee and E Duflo, Poor economics: a radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty, Public Affairs, 2011
Assessment
Written test (100%) in Winter Term Week 1
There will be an in person exam taking place in WT Week 1 (not within the School's exam period(s)).
Key facts
Department: Geography and Environment
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 104
Average class size 2024/25: 26
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Problem solving
- Communication
- Application of numeracy skills
- Specialist skills