{"id":13211,"date":"2026-05-15T11:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/?p=13211"},"modified":"2026-10-22T07:57:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T11:57:25","slug":"maf-eec-434-534-economics-of-natural-resources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/2026\/05\/15\/maf-eec-434-534-economics-of-natural-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"MAF\/EEC 434\/534, Economics of Natural Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Required for :<\/strong> MMA, MA, PhD<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Typical Semester :<\/strong> Typically Spring<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Typically Taught By :<\/strong> Hiro Uchida<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This course examines a broad range of issues related to the use of natural resources, applying microeconomic theory, economic reasoning, and techniques to natural resource allocation problems. The economic tools are applied to renewable and non-renewable resource problems, including the problems of fisheries overexploitation, excessive forest harvesting, competition over land and water, and energy resources. The course also examines the economic rationale for government intervention in the market&#8217;s provision of natural resources and evaluates alternative methods for regulating the use of selected natural resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The course will first cover the basic principles and tools required to analyze natural resource management problems. For EEC 534, we will use numerical simulations with Excel to augment the understanding of the basic principles. After we cover the basics, we will cover how these principles are applied by studying several case studies of contemporary renewable and non-renewable natural resource problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While covering mathematical materials will be limited in favor of policy analysis and economic interpretations, sometimes they are necessary to understand the logic behind the arguments and claims in a scientific manner. Therefore, the course is not completely math-free. For this reason, and especially for EEC 534, it is recommended to have supplemental materials in addition to the designated textbook (listed below), such as Simon and Blume (1994).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Course Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. Understand the underlying economic incentive forces that result in the overuse and overexploitation of natural resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. Understand the intention of current regulations on resource use, why it failed or succeeded in relation to the underlying economic incentive forces mentioned in #1, and discuss the possible alternative regulations and\/or solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3. Able to distinguish three types of natural resource management problems: stock adjustment, timing, and non-renewable resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4. (For EEC 534) Able to mathematically solve the optimal resource use over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">5. (For EEC 534) Able to apply the theory and mathematical model to real-world problems through numerical simulations in Excel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Prerequisites<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 EEC 434: No prerequisites; not open to ENRE undergraduate majors; Graduate-level standing for non-ENRE graduate students; or by permission by the instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2022 EEC 534: EEC 528 or equivalent, or by permission by the instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">General Info on <strong>Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Course Offerings for MAF Students <\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Marine Affairs Graduate Students<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dear Marine Affairs Graduate Students,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will have the option to take one of two courses that will satisfy the economics requirement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>EEC434\/534: Economics of Natural Resources T\/Th 12:30p-1:45p | Professor Hiro Uchida (huchida@uri.edu)<br><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>EEC435\/535: Environmental Economics T\/Th 11a -12:15p | Professor Emi Uchida (euchida@uri.edu)<br><br><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a><strong>Course Registration Instructions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you <strong>have not taken intermediate microeconomics (EEC528 equivalent)<\/strong>, please register for the <strong>400-level course (EEC434 or EEC435)<\/strong>. These are designed for students without an advanced economics background. We will send out communication when the courses are ready for registration.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you <strong>have taken intermediate microeconomics<\/strong>, or if you are PhD student, register for the <strong>500-level course (EEC534 or EEC535)<\/strong>. These include a required recitation section covering economic theory and econometrics at a more advanced level. These courses are already available for registration in ecampus.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are a PhD student but you have not taken intermediate microeconomics, please email the respective instructor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a><strong>Course Content Overview<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>EEC434\/534: Economics of Natural Resources (434 \u20133 credits; 534\u20134 credits)<br><\/strong>Focuses on microeconomic theory applied to natural resource management, including topics such as fisheries, forests, groundwater, and energy resources. Emphasis is on sustainable resource management and policy interventions. Instructor: Hiro Uchida (huchida@uri.edu)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>EEC435\/535: Environmental Economics (435-3 credits; 535\u20144 credits)<br><\/strong>Emphasizes economic analysis of environmental challenges like pollution, climate change, ecosystem services, and valuation methods. Covers policy instruments and economic research methodologies (e.g., nonmarket valuation) relevant to environmental issues. Instructor: Emi Uchida (euchida@uri.edu)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a><\/a><strong>Next Steps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Review the course descriptions.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose between EEC434\/534 and EEC435\/535 (or both!). If you would like to obtain the syllabi, please contact the instructors directly.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Register according to your economics background: 400-level if no intermediate microeconomics taken, 500-level if intermediate microeconomics is completed.<br><br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contact the instructors if you have any questions.<br><br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We look forward to your participation in these important economic courses relevant to Marine Affairs!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Required for : MMA, MA, PhD Typical Semester : Typically Spring Typically Taught By : Hiro Uchida This course examines a broad range of issues related to the use of natural resources, applying microeconomic theory, economic reasoning, and techniques to natural resource allocation problems. The economic tools are applied to renewable and non-renewable resource problems, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13211"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13422,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13211\/revisions\/13422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}