Economics and Environmental Science

Course description

What causes inflation? How can unemployment be reduced? Can taxes ever be fair and efficient? How do energy and environmental markets work? How can economics inform and appraise public health policy? Big questions, looking for big answers – do you think you are up to the challenge? Almost every decision taken in our fast-moving social, commercial and technological world is dictated by economic imperatives at regional, national and global levels. In the current economic climate the role of the economist is becoming more crucial with the welfare and prosperity of nations dependent upon accurate interpretations and responses to continually shifting economic realities. Environmental Science as a discipline has grown out of increasing concern for the environment and the need for a scientific approach to the study of human impacts on the natural environment. Today’s environmental scientists are challenged to find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems, such as climate change, pollution, energy, loss of biodiversity and the sustainable provision of food and clean water. Our course provides the necessary grounding in the science and the technical training needed to investigate these problems and find appropriate management solutions. Fieldwork is integrated throughout the course. Stirling provides an ideal location for studying the environment – the campus has a loch and woodlands set against the backdrop of the Ochil Hills. There is also easy access to landscapes as diverse as the Scottish Highlands, the Forth Estuary and land degraded through past industrial activities. A residential field class is held in the Scottish Highlands in Year 2, and we offer a choice of optional field trips to southern Spain or Iceland in Year 3 to study unfamiliar environments and develop an understanding of how these landscapes have evolved and the environmental management issues they present. (Students must pay most of the costs of their travel, accommodation, and subsistence for the field courses.)

Subjects

• Environmental science
• Economics