Environmental economics lecture notes
There are many textbooks on environmental economics. I have 22 in my library. Why add another? Most textbooks aim at the liberal arts market in the USA. Environmental economics may be the only economics these kids read. That’s not how we teach in Europe. Other textbooks are ecological economics. That is not right either. Of the 22 textbooks I know, only 2 are pitched at the senior undergraduate students of a European-style economics course. I used to use Natural Resource and Environmental Economics by Roger Perman and colleagues, but it is aging and there was never much coherence between the parts written by its six authors. I later switched to Charlie Kolstad’s Intermediate Environmental Economics. That too is getting old and it is incomplete. I therefore relied on Kolstad plus a few chapters by me — ethics, sustainability, environmental Kuznets curve, environmental justice.
That changed when Oxford University Press raised the price of a Kolstad paperback from £30 to £130. That’s right. They raised the price by £100. For the same, aging product. That’s monopoly power. I cannot in good conscience ask my students to pay that, so my complement-to-Kolstad became a substitute-for-Kolstad. Sorry Charlie.
Last year, I gave the students a freshly written first draft. Now it’s a finished manuscript. What to do?
I published my previous textbook on the economics of climate change with Edward Elgar. They offer some services, like proofreading and publicity. Updates are every 4-5 years. The next edition is scheduled for publication in 2027. They charge a lot for that. The book sells for £30. I get £1. (The royalty scheme is non-linear and segmented, but £1 is basically it.)
I do not see why my students should fork over money to the shareholders of a company that does not pay me for my labour. So I decided to try something else instead. The new book is published in five ways:
The latest version can be had for $10. This is cheaper than any other textbook in environmental economics. It’s a PDF and I fully expect students to share. I can update when I see fit.
There is a paperback on Amazon for those who do not like reading on screens.
There is a hardcover on Amazon for the library. This also means that the book will pop up in search engines.
An earlier version is available for free on GitHub. There is an honesty box for voluntary contributions.
Instructors can ask for a PDF with the solutions manual.
This is an experiment. I may regret my choices and reverse course. The money made (which is more per book despite its lower price) will support research.