2024 Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering Graduate major in Global Engineering for Development, Environment and Society
The economics and systems analysis of environment, resources and technology
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Global Engineering for Development, Environment and Society
- Instructor(s)
- Koji Tokimatsu
- Class Format
- Lecture (Livestream)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Wed
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- GEG.S402
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 14, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
The outline of the course is as follows. For the sake of sustainable development of human society, it is necessary to assess environment and resources with their technologies in socio-economic perspectives. In this course, lectures compactly provide the essence of related academic fields, especially systems analysis and economics. Such contents can be used as basic knowledge after graduation or to brush up on various specialism for career choices. The contents include economics in energy, resources, environment, development and systems analysis on techno-economics, energy, life-cycle assessment, and environmental management. The lectures are given paying attention to the related fields and cross cutting analytical tools.
The aim of this course is for students from various places and future career paths after their graduations to understand various concepts related to the academic fields without requiring prior basic knowledge, and to provide knowledge and toolboxes which can be applied in their roles after graduation. This course is suitable for students who have not yet taken courses related to socio-economics in the environment and resources, and is oriented to students who wish to learn with a wide perspective in these fields, although the contents are basic. This course is NOT suitable for those who want to learn advanced, specialized contents.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand and explain various concepts in environment and resource economics and systems engineering.
2) Set targets for various problems in resources and environment in their home countries, to which students can apply the explained concepts and tools provided in the class.
Keywords
economic growth, energy economics, system engineering, environment and resource economics, environmental valuation, lifecycle assessment, sustainable development
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
In the beginning of each class, replies are given to inquiries and questions raised by students in submission of home works from the previous class, quick reviews of the previous class are also given before proceeding to the day's class.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Outline of all the contents of the classes; its aims, procedures, and evaluation | Understanding various fields of environment and resources |
| Class 2 | Economic growth (classical, neo classical, optimal, endogenous) | Understanding data and mathematical formulation for economic growth |
| Class 3 | Formulation of production function and substitution of inputs | Understanding inputs to explain economic activity (outputs) |
| Class 4 | Energy economics, techno-economic systems, economics of global warming, energy systems engineering | Applying production function to various fields of environment and resources |
| Class 5 | Mineral resource economics, material flow analysis, waste economics | Understanding various issues of resources from upstream, consumption, and downstream |
| Class 6 | Lifecycle assessment, environmental accounting, environmental management | Understanding evaluation of resource use and environmental impacts via company’s activities |
| Class 7 | Environmental economics (valuation, cost benefit analysis (CBA)), Natural resource economics and sustainable development | Understanding methodology for valuing non-market goods and its application to CBA |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
unspecified
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Course materials are distributed for one or a few classes in both Japanese and English. Related reference book is "Scarcity and Growth Revisited" (RFF, 2005)
Evaluation methods and criteria
Each homework (10 point/times X 7 times) plus 30 point for a final report
Related courses
- ENR.A408 ： Economy of energy system
- GEG.I402 ： Development Economics and Appropriate Technology
- GEG.S501 ： History and Current Issues of Economic Development and Environmental Protection
- GEG.S401 ： Environmental Policy
- TSE.C312 ： Introduction to Environmental Policy and Social System
Prerequisites
nothing
Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).
tokimatsu.k.ac[at]m.titech.ac.jp、+81-45-924-5533 (transferred to business celler phone, anytime available to catch)
Office hours
unspecified. Please contact to meet anywhere at Ookayama, Suzukakedai, and Tamachi