Welcome to the course

Welcome to the Introduction to Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis.

In this course we will start the conversation about the importance of environmental metrics in economics. You will explore components you should be aware of when you want to start analysing the environmental cost-benefit of a project.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• Describe some key components of environmental cost-benefit analysis
• Classify goods and services by their property rights
• Identify market failures related to breaches of property rights

What you’ll be learning this week

This week we’ll explore some introductory concepts: scarcity and opportunity cost; static efficiency and economic surplus; and competitive markets and equilibrium. These are fundamental to understanding environmental cost-benefit analysis.

Meet your teaching team

Your Lead Educators for this course are a team of experienced economists from Deakin University: Dr Shuddha Rafiq, Dr Hemant Pullabhotla and Prof Mehmet Ulubasoglu.

Joining you in discussions throughout the course will be Dr Helen Scarborough. Helen has extensive experience as a researcher, teacher and professional economist with a passion for environmental economics and will be on hand to answer questions and queries throughout the course.

If you haven’t already, take a moment to view their profiles (via the links above) and follow them to receive notifications about course updates, announcements and other important course information.

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of all the unceded lands, skies and waterways on which Deakin students and teachers come together. As we learn and teach through virtually and physically constructed places across time, we pay our deep respect to the Ancestors and Elders of Wadawurrung Country, Eastern Maar Country and Wurundjeri Country, as well as the Traditional Custodians of all the lands on which you may be learning and teaching, where education has taken place for many thousands of years.

Watch Deakin’s Acknowledgement of Country video to learn more.

Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis in Business

You are currently studying a free open course developed by Deakin University, a five-star-rated university renowned for world-class teaching and innovation.

If you are interested in working towards a university qualification, join our credit-bearing stackable short course Environmental Cost-Benefit Analysis in Business.

This microcredential is designed to take you further and deeper with environmental cost-benefit analysis. It will show you how to use the methodology to support your decision making in business. By completing the free open course you’re in now, you will have already completed the first week of the microcredential.

Your task

Watch the video at the top of the page to find out more about what we’ll be covering in this course.

Then, take a moment to introduce yourself to the group in the comments, including your professional background, motivation for undertaking this course and what you hope to learn.

When you’re done, select the Mark as complete button (doing this will help you keep track of your progress) and go to the next step.