First Year Economics students publish articles in sustainability journal GLOBUS

We are delighted to announce that four students were selected on merit and offered the opportunity to have their environmental economics-based ‘Policy Brief’, the main piece of coursework submitted for the EC138 - Introduction to Environmental Economics module, published in GLOBUS, the Global Sustainable Development (GSD) Department’s student-led online Sustainability journal.

The unavoidable nature of the global climate crisis means that Warwick students now, more than ever, are aware of a range of environmental and ecological issues and many are already actively engaged in addressing these issues.

As economists, we have a body of knowledge that offers a systematic framework within which to further understand this crisis. An undergraduate module at Warwick introducing First Year students to environmental economics attempts to enlighten and engage in a different way. It was designed by Dr Tatiana Coutto (Warwick) and Dr Abby Kendrick (now NYU) with the aim of giving students an opportunity to develop and use their knowledge to explore an environmental issue of particular interest.

Through a number of stages students plan, research and write an economics-based policy brief. This sets out the policy terrain and offers a critique - using economic theory and published empirical work - of current interventions. Students then deliver their own rigorously thought-through and evidence-backed policy alternative.

A connection established last year with Todd Olive (Economic Studies and GSD) who completed this module in his first year and who is now the Editor-in-Chief of the GSD Department’s online Sustainability journal, GLOBUS, has made it possible for the four students to have their work published. A big thank you to Todd for working with Joel, Joe, Christina and Pratyush to help them get their policy briefs ready for publication which can now be viewed online.

The following student articles have been published in GLOBUS:

Joe Forsey (BSc Economics)

The Orangutan-Palm Oil Conflict

Time is running out for orangutans. In 2016 the International Union for Conservation of Nature classed the species as critically endangered (Ancrenaz et al., 2016), one slip away from extinction Read full article

Christina Portelli (BSc Economics)

Controlling Air Quality in Beijing

As the capital of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing is renowned for its rich history and culture, strong culture of innovation, and now unfortunately air pollution. Read full article

Joel Ramlill (BA/BSc Economics, Politics and International Studies)

Behavioural Nudging & Meat Heavy Diets

Food production is a major factor of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) with just under a quarter of all GHG emissions coming from deforestation and agricultural emissions from livestock, soil and nutrient management. Read full article

Pratyush Satyanarayan (BSc Economics)

Palm Oil Production in The Republic of Gabon

In recent decades, the global market for palm oil has grown significantly. With South-East Asia’s land availability becoming increasingly scarce, the next low-cost frontier for production is Africa, more specifically Gabon. Read full article