Inequality and environmental matters are multidimensional, intertwined and
complex. They might unfold self-enforcing negative effects on human wel-
fare and wellbeing. In this sense, they affect economic growth, development,
environment, education, health, social and political stability, etc. The current
trends of inequality within and between countries are worrisome. At the same
time, global warming and climate change severely and unequally affect human’s
wellbeing and economies. Understanding and tackling these pressing problems
should therefore be among the priorities of economists.
Reducing poverty and inequality as well as fighting climate change are central
elements of the sustainable development goals (2030 Agenda) and rank high in
most policy agendas. However, while some policy measures designed to reduce
poverty and inequality could negatively affect the environment, environmental policies often cause undesirable distributional effects. The distributive effects (‘incidence’) of environmental policies are indeed becoming increasingly important for the political feasibility of environmental policies addressing e.g. climate change or biodiversity loss.
Against this background, a more holistic approach integrating climate actions with measures to reduce poverty and inequality is needed. In this course, we study these issues applying and extending
state-of-the-art economic methods. Particularly, we consider insights of behavioral economics in order to provide a deeper and more integrated analysis of these highly intertwined themes.