Sustainability Economics — ETH Zürich · Spring 2026

Brundtland definition, SDGs, microeconomics refresher, three capitals, weak vs. strong sustainability, the global energy challenge, climate damages, particulates, fiscal sustainability.

GDP basics, PPP, production function, market failures, externalities, IAMs, the DICE model (Nordhaus), abatement costs, damage function, discounting, and the SCC.

Five types of economic value, correlation vs. causation, OVB, four valuation methodologies, VSL, stated vs. revealed preferences, contingent valuation, counterfactual reasoning.

Bats and White-Nose Syndrome (Frank), vultures and diclofenac (Frank & Sudarshan), the valuation toolkit applied to ecosystems, implications for weak vs. strong sustainability.

Private vs. social return, five benefit channels, ESG rating divergence, Scope 1/2/3 emissions, the green-patent paradox, causal inference challenges, reading treatment/control graphs.

Five stylized facts, FSC wood, Dolphin-Safe tuna, BP Deepwater Horizon, greenwashing IV study, carbon offsets, labor market rewards, carbon risk premium, theory of decarbonization.

Green capital reform effect, economic vs. accounting cost, marginal vs. average cost, MAC curves, static vs. dynamic cost, partial vs. general equilibrium, LCOE formula and worked examples.

Three justice dimensions, doughnut model, moral compasses, SWF, utilitarian vs. maximin, CRRA utility, discounted utilitarianism, Ramsey PRTP, CBA, Nordhaus vs. Stern.

Simple Ramsey Rule, Nordhaus vs. Stern parameters, expert surveys, RPC and limited substitutability, equity weighting, risk & tipping points, Weitzman's dismal theorem, synthesis SCC ~$283.

Instrument toolbox, equimarginal principle, bans vs. ETS, Weitzman taxes vs. ETS, hybrid instruments, policy sequencing, DID/SCM/SDID, Sweden carbon tax, German eco-tax, EU ETS.

Revenue recycling, distributional channels, country cases (Switzerland, Austria), burden-sharing rules, free-riding, climate clubs (Nordhaus), CBAM, UNFCCC/Paris/Kyoto history.

Taxonomy of goods, VCM vs. CPR games, Claim game, fishery economics (MSY), Ostrom's 8 design principles, property regimes, Diamond's collapse framework, resilience and regime shifts.

Three measurement approaches, comprehensive wealth, Hartwick rule, dashboards (SDGs/MONET), composite indices, HDI, generalized mean (CES), substitutability drives rankings, OHI experiment.

All 13 chapters condensed into What/Why/Remember bullets + 7 worked calculation examples + 15 exam traps and recurring patterns.