Economics of Natural Resources: Focus on Petroleum, Electricity, and Seafood in Norway

Introduction

This course will run at campus Bergen only.

The Norwegian economy depends heavily on the exploitation of natural resources such as energy (petroleum and electricity) and seafood (aquaculture and fisheries) to produce commodities that are traded in international markets. Abundant access to natural resources in combination with a well-functioning governance system is a key determinant for Norway being one of the world’s wealthiest countries. In this course we will discuss management challenges for renewable and non-renewable resources and how they have been addressed in the Norwegian industries, as well as how there is still significant potential for future development. An important part of the course will be to use economic theory to emphasize the importance of environmentally sustainable utilization of natural resources as well as the importance of supplier industries including financial services.

Course content

• Natural resource industries and the Norwegian economy.
• The energy industries (oil, gas and electricity, including suppliers).
• Economics of non-renewable resources (Hotelling and the tragedy of the commons).
• The seafood industries (aquaculture and fisheries, including suppliers).
• Economics of renewable resources (bioeconomic model).
• Resource rents, the resource curse and governance.
• Environmental challenge: sustainability and policy.