Teaching and Educational Methods

Teaching Water Economics by Building Problem-Based Case Studies

David Zetland(a)
(a)Leiden University College

JEL Codes: A12, A22, B52, Q25, Q5
Keywords: Case studies, problem-based learning, teaching, water, x-disciplinary

Publish Date: August 9, 2023
Volume 5, Issue 2

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Abstract

Academic economists have many insights to contribute to water management at all scales. These contributions need to be placed in local institutional contexts and reconciled with insights from other disciplines if they are to affect policy, action, and evaluation. Case studies offer a useful way to organize different lines of thinking in the classroom or the field. This article reviews these factors—academic vs. practical perspectives; economic vs. other disciplines—and provides a framework for teaching water economics by building problem-based case studies.

About the Authors: David Zetland is a University Lecturer at Leiden University College. (Corresponding email: d.j.zetland@luc.leidenuniv.nl ). Acknowledgements: I thank Gábor Ungvári, Samuel Ian Rosen, two reviewers, and the special issue editors for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper. This version is almost entirely new in words (but not in goals), so I thank them for helping me sharpen its focus. All remaining mistakes are mine.

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