Agricultural and natural resource economics and policy

The course aims to introduce students to the economics of natural resources in agriculture and the related policies. Emphasis will be given to the economics of nonrenewable and renewable resources in agriculture, agricultural externalities, the trade-off between innovation, productivity and environmental quality and issues related water, land use and to agricultural resource policy.
A focus will be devoted to the economic, environmental and policy dimensions and linkages related to the management of water resource and its sustainable use in agriculture.
The final part of the course will be focused on bioeconomy and circular economy, providing a comprehensive view on principles, objectives, actions and innovative potential of these two timely and sustainable economic approaches. The current policy context for both the bio- and circular economy at the European level will be examined.

The course will prepare students to employ economic principles to assess the role played by natural resources in agriculture and to evaluate policy measures aimed at improving economic efficiency, social welfare and sustainability. The course aims to provide the basic elements of the water economy to understand the economic and social processes of the right to water and for a sustainable consumption of water resource. At the end of the course, students will acquire knowledge on the underlying bases of bio- and circular economic processes, on their most prominent issues and criticalities, as well as on the major opportunities that could be derived from a systemic perspective.