Economics on a Finite Planet: Sustainability, Growth and Degrowth



Overview

We are often told that economic growth is a good thing. Yet increasing awareness of  the finite nature of many resources along with the climate crisis have challenged that consensus. Should governments no longer aim to foster economic growth and instead aim for something else? What should that alternative be?

This short course considers the arguments of thoughtful economists about the topic of economic growth. Students will consider fundamental issues including the use of Gross Domestic Product as a universal measure and its possible alternatives. The course also explores several economic frameworks and proposals including degrowth, doughnut economics, green growth, sustainable capitalism, and eco-socialism.

This course directly addresses some of the most pressing economic questions of our time, and provides the tools to equip student with their own considered positions on economic policy grounded critically in evidence and theory.

This course combines online study with a weekly 1-hour live webinar led by your tutor. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.

Programme details

This course begins on the 13 January 2026 which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting which will be held on 20 January 2026 (UK time).

Programme details

  1. What is Economics?
  2. Going for growth: The case for economic growth
  3. The costs of growth: The case against economic growth
  4. Growing what? Gross domestic product and alternative metrics
  5. Doughnut economics and sustainable development
  6. Is it possible to have prosperity without growth?
  7. Eco-socialism and the case for degrowth
  8. Green growth and capitalist innovation
  9. Can capitalism be sustainable?
  10. Growth, degrowth or a-growth?

 

Certification

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online course are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

See more information on CATS points

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. 

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £360.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Doug Bamford

Doug Bamford is author of Rethinking Taxation (Searching Finance, 2014) and several papers on tax justice (including articles in the Journal of Applied Philosophy and Moral Philosophy and Politics). He has taught at OUDCE for several years and blogs at Doug Bamford's Tax Appeal.

Course aims

This course aims to:

  • Provide alternative ways to assess environmentally sustainable policy success.
  • Illustrate and navigate the conflicting arguments for economic growth and degrowth.
  • Provide tools for evaluating and debating economic policy in the context of environmental sustainability

Teaching methods

This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Any standard web browser can be used to access these materials, but we recommend Google Chrome. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.

All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  1. Articulate the arguments for and against economic growth and different economic frameworks
  2. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of rival economic policy frameworks
  3. Be able to advocate their own position on economic growth in writing and in open debate based on evidence and scholarship

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

Application

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

 

Level and demands

This course is open to all and no prior knowledge is required.

This course is offered at FHEQ Level 4 (i.e. first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments and for the weekly webinar. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours, including those spent in live webinars.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements

IT requirements

Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support