Addressing the Relationship between Economics and Climate Change: A Discussion of Principles

Abstract

The majority of US colleges and universities have a degree requirement related to the principles of economics. As a result, nearly all college students have some exposure to economics during their undergraduate program. However, the practical applicability of economics to present observable outcomes is not often addressed in standard textbooks. This exclusion limits the opportunity to foster needed and urgent changes in human behavior and further, limits the questioning of the relationship between economics and sustainability. This article reviews the most widely used macroeconomics textbook, Principles of Economics by N. Gregory Mankiw, specific to the discussion of climate change. The article authors argue for the explicit inclusion of climate change in macroeconomics textbooks and conclude with survey outcomes resulting from exposure to an integrated approach of economics and sustainability at the introductory economics level.