ECON 341 · Fall 2026 · SUNY Geneseo
What should we take—and what should we leave?
Learn how economists value, allocate, and govern natural resources when choices made today reshape the possibilities available tomorrow.
The course arc
Follow the stock. Read the incentives. Test the rule.
Every unit returns to the same problem: a valuable resource changes through time, people respond to incentives, and institutions shape the outcome.
01Frame · Weeks 1–5Markets, scarcity, and timeBuild a self-contained microeconomics toolkit, then use dynamic efficiency and scarcity rent to allocate depletable stocks.→
02Value · Weeks 6–8What nature contributesMeasure use and non-use values with stated and revealed preferences, then connect them to ecosystem services.Coming soon
03Govern · Weeks 9–11Renewable resources and commonsAnalyze fisheries, forests, and land as biological and spatial systems shaped by access, property, and collective rules.Coming soon
04Adapt · Weeks 12–16Risk, resilience, and sustainabilityStudy wildfire, insurance, and disaster resilience before bringing the semester’s tools to a resource under pressure.Coming soon
Dates to keep in view
Plan around the turning points.
First course meeting
Quiz
Midterm exam
Final exam · 8:30 AM
Everything in reach
Open the right field station.
Weekly pages tell you what to focus on. These collections keep every published course item easy to find.
Lecture slidesModels, graphs, cases, and visual explanations from class. ClassworkPractice, games, and simulations for learning the mechanisms by doing. HomeworkProblem sets and case analysis. Submit completed work in Brightspace. BrightspaceSubmissions, grades, announcements, and course communication. Resource topic atlasFind a fishery, forest, aquifer, landscape, or risk system for the group project. SyllabusCourse policies, outcomes, readings, assessment, and full schedule.