A Principles of Macroeconomics module linking economic inequality, sustainability, and environmental harm, using real-world data, current events, and UN Sustainable Development Goal 10 — Reduced Inequalities. to deepen student understanding of equity-driven economic outcomes.

Course: Economics, Principles of Macroeconomics (Econ 2)
Author: Wesley Oliphant, LAVC

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Summary

This curriculum resource integrates environmental sustainability into Principles of Macroeconomics by examining how economic inequality both contributes to and is exacerbated by environmental damage. Designed as a standalone module, it replaces a traditional textbook chapter with curated news articles, videos, and global datasets to help students analyze inequality through core macroeconomic concepts such as consumption, growth, and income distribution. Emphasizing environmental equity, the resource highlights how higher-income populations disproportionately generate environmental harm while lower-income communities bear greater consequences, aligning macroeconomic analysis with sustainability challenges and student learning outcomes.

Strategies

I wanted to focus on the connection between equity, the environment, and the economy. UN SDG 10 is represented.

I employed the strategy of just getting started. Specifically, I define sustainability and relate it to a macroeconomic concept I will cover in the class for the first time. I created a module on inequality that I then relate to sustainability. While it tends to be caused more by people with higher incomes, environmental damage disproportionately harms people with lower incomes, providing another reason to encourage sustainability.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

The SLO for Macroeconomics is to analyze and understand national economic issues (and current events) with respect to inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.

The economics department offers three courses on economics: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Economic History. However, none of the SLOs mentions the environment let alone environmental equity.

Both inequality and the environment are considered important by college students. In a 2013 survey, 85% of college students state that inequality is a major issue. (New Survey Shows College Students are Worried about Economic Prospects | Faculty Highlights) Also, another survey by Student Voice, that was conducted by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse with support from Kaplan, has 74% of students stating they have been or would consider becoming involved in local opportunities to persuade their hometown or college area to improve sustainability. (Sustainability actions students take and want their colleges to take)

Environmental Education Learning Outcomes (EELOs)

Enable students to identify and articulate existing sustainability threats and challenges relevant to economics and, in particular, economic inequality.

Resources and Materials

I have used news articles from several sources: National Geographic (Hard cover magazine), Japan Times, the New York Times, the Economist, and the Guardian. I incorporated material from a development course I used to teach to discuss inequality and distinguish it from poverty. I also included a survey conducted by USC Dornsife. For data, I used the World Bank database.

Articles

• Saudi Arabia says 1,301 deaths during Hajj were mostly unregistered pilgrims – The Japan Times
• In Los Angeles, Shade Most Often Goes to the Privileged | EMS (ethnicmediaservices.org)
• LA wildfires death toll climbs to 30 after officials find more human remains | The Guardian
• Map: See updated damage assessments for Eaton and Palisades fires – NBC Los Angeles
• Wildfires hit L.A.’s housing-insecure residents hardest, USC Dornsife survey finds
• California wildfires could leave deeper inequality in their wake | PBS News

Videos

• Hajj pilgrimage: more than 1,000 dead in extreme 52C heatwave | BBC News

Data

• World Bank – Gini Index Data

Assignment Introduction

The articles mentioned above would be the reading assigned for this topic instead of a chapter in the macroeconomics textbook. To complement my in-class lecture, there is also a PowerPoint version of the lecture available to students. It includes the videos mentioned above as well as the data sources above.

Given that my graded material is mostly multiple-choice, I will give the students a homework assignment on this topic of ten questions with nine being multiple-choice. To encourage critical thinking, the last question is a short-answer question to encourage student thought. I then incorporate most of these questions into my second midterm exam and my final exam.

Assignment

1. Which of the following can be said about poverty and inequality?
   • They are exactly the same thing
   • They have nothing to do with each other
   • They are related topics but not exactly the same
   • They are topics no one cares about
2. According to this course, which of the following is the best definition of economic inequality?
   • The market value of the domestic production of goods and services
   • The uneven distribution of wealth, income, and opportunities across different groups
   • The percentage of a population that earns below a certain income level
   • The quality of life of a country’s population
3. What would the Lorenz curve look like for a country whose income distribution is completely equal?
   • It is a 45-degree line
   • It is a horizontal line
   • It is a vertical line
   • It is a flat line that suddenly spikes at the end
4. What would the Lorenz curve look like for a country whose income distribution is completely unequal?
   • It is a 45-degree line
   • It is a horizontal line
   • It is a vertical line
   • It is a flat line that suddenly spikes at the end
5. Sweden has a Gini coefficient of 0.30. What is the most accurate interpretation of this number?
   • The country has a high degree of income inequality
   • The country’s income inequality has increased a lot in the past decade
   • The country’s income inequality has decreased a lot in the past decade
   • The country has a low degree of income inequality
6. A country’s level of economic inequality affects the country’s amount of consumption.
   • True
   • False
7. According to a 2025 study, if the entire world population had emitted like the bottom 50%, the GMT increase from 1990 to 2019 would have been…
   • Essentially negligible
   • 5°F
   • 12°F
   • 22°F
8. Major environmental disasters tend to reduce the amount of income inequality in the city affected.
   • True
   • False
9. Which of the following is false about sustainability?
   • It is a concept related to the environment
   • It is defined as the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
   • It is only concerned with the current generation and not the future
   • It can help prevent the effects of climate change
10. Consider the following statement: “Because most of the negative effects of pollution are felt by those most responsible for generating the pollution, pollution should be simply a matter of personal choice.” According to what was presented in the class on economic inequality, how would you respond to this statement?

Assessment

Assessment is according to how many questions students get right. A score of 7 out of 10 on the homework would be passing. I drop the lowest homework score in the term. As a result, I do not offer retakes on homework assignments.

Notes

Since this topic is part of a new lecture topic, here is the link to that PowerPoint. LAVC_OliphantPP_Draft_Curriculum – Google Slides

Note to Educators

I tried conducting the lecture for the first time. While the students understood the material well enough to answer most questions, the lecture itself did not go well in terms of student engagement. It was provided at the end of the semester when students are very tired and stressed and so, there was little participation or interest.

One idea for improvement could be relating this topic to course themes. For example, the fact that there is proof of a regressive effect of climate change in terms of disproportionately affecting those with lower incomes could be tied to how policies or economic trends can also be regressive – namely, tariffs and inflation. Since it is so timely, more relevant videos could be included and shown for this topic.