Advanced course on Environmental Input-Output Analysis
Course description
In this course, students systematically study Environmentally-extended Input-Output Analysis (EEIOA). EEIOA is a standard methodology for assessing environmental footprints (e.g. carbon footprints) and analyzing the production and consumption structures within one or across economies. Economic and environmental analyses are inherently integrated for EEIOA. The course is divided into two parts. The first part introduces the fundamental concepts and quantifications of EEIOA, such as the monetary and physical input-output tables and environmental footprint calculations for nations. The second part of the course introduces several advanced EEIOA techniques and illustrates how they have been used for analyzing sustainability issues, such as the socio-economic and environmental effects of international trade and circular economy strategies, the main immediate drivers of changing environmental pressures imposed by human activities (e.g. CO2 emissions), and sustainable waste management from producers, consumers, and systems perspectives. The course follows a hands-on approach. Each new lecture is accompanied by an individual assignment, in which students do exercises related to the new content and develop and apply python programming skills. As a 10-EC course, the weekly study load is about 10 hours.
Course objectives
After completing this course, students are expected to:
- Understand the structures and key components of supply-use tables (SUTs), input-output (IO) tables, and main IO datasets.
- Model, in Python, and analyze the economic and environmental effects of production and consumption activities and potential policies across supply chains.
- Articulate the state-of-the-art EEIOA methods introduced in the course and their applications in sustainability research and real-world decision-making.
- Develop and present a quantitative study using EEIOA, interpreting its main results and potential limitations.