Energy, Resource, and Environmental Economics

Students who specialize in Energy, Resource, and Environmental Economics find employment in a wide range of jobs in both the public and private sectors.  Private sector jobs include those at banks, consulting firms, and companies specializing in environmental planning, litigation, and remediation.  In the public sector, economists work in local, state, and national agencies involved in environmental management.  These include the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Interior, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  In the international arena, resource economists are employed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, and many branches of the United Nations.  Many graduates go on to teach at 4-year colleges and major research universities.

Purdue research in energy, resource, and environmental economics covers a range of topics including:

• alternative agriculture
• rural land use and application of GIS to analysis of environmental issues
• water resources research, including crop irrigation and water management
• economic effects of conservation tillage and alternative farming systems
• innovative uses of experimental economics in dealing with environmental issues such as valuation of environmental resources
• energy economics, including energy pricing and conservation
• tropical deforestation and agroforestry systems
• causes and consequences of global climate change

The specialty in energy, resource, and environmental economics is designed to provide students with a solid foundation in the tools used by environmental and natural resource economists and a high degree of flexibility in developing a plan of study.  Environmental and natural resource economists often work with scientists from other disciplines, and many students develop programs of study that include courses taught in other departments at Purdue.  There is no prescribed course sequence.  Each student's plan of study is tailored to his/her needs and interests.  In addition to the core requirements of the Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, this specialty requires nine additional credits of coursework.  Courses in the plan of study are selected in collaboration with the student's supervisory committee and major professor.

 

Suggested Courses for the Master of Science Program:

• AGEC 52500 - Environmental Policy Analysis
• AGEC 60400 - Fund of Applied Welfare Economics
• AGEC 61200 - Agricultural Production Economics I
• AGEC 64000 - Agricultural Policy
• IE 54500 - Engineering Economics Analysis
• IE 54600 - Economic Decisions in Engineering

Required for the Energy, Resource, and Environmental Economics specialty area in the Ph.D. Program:

12 credits minimum

• AGEC 61600 - Resource Economics and Policy (3)
• AGEC 61900 - Applied Economics (3)

Plus two of the following:

• AGEC 60400 - Fund of Applied Welfare Economics (1) AND AGEC 60800 - Benefit Cost Analysis (2)
• AGEC 61800 - pplied General Equilibrium Analysis
• AGEC 64000 - Agricultural Development and Policy (3)