Economics and Sustainability CALS Sustainability Symposium 13 April 2017

Economics & Sustainability Economics is the study of how individuals and societies make choices about the allocation and use of scarce resources Economic Concepts are essential to analyzing sustainability Public goods/Common resources Externalities Market Failures Economic measurements are important How to value environmental services How to value aggregate production

ISU Economics Large cohort of faculty whose research encompasses Environmental and natural resource issues Agricultural production Community sustainability Management of common resources Basic concepts are at the heart of what we teach in most of our courses

Curricular Changes CALS could require everyone to take economics We could probably make sustainability issues more visible Highlight sustainability applications

Advice for the College Two models Separate unit Create a separate departmental identity for sustainability Foster “embedded” sustainability effort within existing units Separate unit Pros: clear accountability, focused effort Cons: resource inefficient, not well integrated Embedded sustainability Pros: more efficient, flexible and adaptable Cons: requires inputs to sustain focus and encourage investment