Econ 57a, Environmental Economics, Fall 2019
Lecture: Tuesday / Friday 11:00-12:20, Mandel Center for Humanites G12
Instructor: Prof. Xinde “James” Ji
Email: xji@brandeis.edu
Office: Sachar Building 001A
Office Hours: Tuesday / Thursday 2:00 - 4:00pm, or by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Noah Rovner-Frydman
Email: noahrf@brandeis.edu
Office Hours: Monday 4:00 - 5:00pm, Thursday 2:00 - 3:00pm, or by appointment
Location: Library by the printers
Course materials will be posted on LATTE, as well as on my personal website, https://sites.google.com/site/xindejamesji/teaching/environmental-economics
How much is an endangered species worth? Are we going to run out of fuel in the next 50 years? How damaging is climate change, and how should we deal with it? Why are so many fisheries over-exploited, forests cut down, aquifers depleted, and are there ways to prevent that?
Human society is intrinsically connected with nature. This course aims to provide an introduction to the economics regarding natural resources and the environment. In first part of the course, we will talk about how economists think about environmental and resource problems from methodological and analytical perspecitves. Topics include market failures and policy instruments to correct them, property rights, and ways to evaluate benefits and costs of protecting the environment. In the second part of the course, we will dive into specific real-world environmental problems and analyze them using economics methods and tools. Topics will include non-renewable resources, air, water, climate, and others.
There are four learning goals that I hope you will be able to grasp by the end of this course.
Students are expected to have knowledge of microeconomics at the level of Econ 2a (A Survey of Economics) or Econ 10a (Intro to Microeconomics). I will assume that you have basic knowledge regarding supply and demand, consumer and producer surplus, opportunity cost, etc. Please come to see me if you are not sure you meet the prerequisite of the course.
Required
Markets and the Environment (2nd Edition), by Nathaniel Keohane and Sheila Olmstead, Island Press (2016)
The textbook is available for purchase at the Brandeis Bookstore.
Optional
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (11th Edition), by Tom Tietenberg and Lynne Lewis, Prentice Hall (2018)
Economics and the Environment (7th Edition), by Eban Goodstein and Stephen Polasky, Wiley (2013)
Readings
Additional readings will be posted on LATTE as the class goes along.
What did you find most challenging, confusing, or noteworthy about the reading?
You are expected to work on the project in a group of 4 students. I will provide a list of problems / issues you can work on, but feel free to propose your own topic as long as it is related to an environmental or resource issue. The final products will be a ~10 minutes class presentation and a paper around 8 pages, not including references but everything else.
Think of your paper as an attempt to address an environmental or natural resource issue as a economist: describe the issue; analyze the issue using an analytical or quantitative framework; and offer your conclusion or suggestion. It is not expected that your paper be the last word on the topic or be entirely comprehensive. The point of the paper is for you to learn in greater detail about a particular topic, to think through the trade-offs associated with the problem, to make an argument, and to defend that argument using economic logic.
The paper is expected to be academic, i.e. not a collection of opinions from blogs and websites. You are expected to use information from credible sources, for example refereed journal articles, research reports, and governmental agencies such as the EPA, DOE, and CBO, etc. Make sure you include those references at the end of your paper.
The grade for the group project will be based on both the presentation and the paper itself, applying to all group members. Detailed grading rubrics will be posted later in the semester.
Groups will be assigned on 9/17 based on your background and interests. To help you get started and stay on track, a one-page project proposal is due on 11/1. The group presentations will be held on the last several classes of the semester. The final paper is due electronically on 12/10.
Attendance will not be tracked and you are not required to inform the instructor when you will miss a class. Please find out (either from the instructor or another student in the class) what you missed and get the relevant notes.
Every member of the University community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. A student shall not submit work that is falsified or is not the result of the student’s own effort. Infringement of academic honesty by a student subjects that student to serious penalties, whcih may include failure on the assignment, failure in the course, suspension from the University or other sanctions (see section 20 of Brandeis University Rights and Responsibilities). Please consult Brandeis University Rights and Responsibilities (see https://www.brandeis.edu/studentlife/srcs/rightsresponsibilities/index.html) for all policies and procedures related to academic integrity. Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIn.com software to verify originality. A student who is in course or assignment should consult the faculty member responsible for that course or assignment before submitting the work. Allegations of alleged academic dishonestry will be forwarded to the Department of Student Rights and Community Standards. Citation and research assistance can be found at Brandeis Library Guides - Citing Sources (https://guides.library.brandeis.edu/c.php?g=301723).
The use of cell phones in class is not allowed. Please turn your cell phone off or put it on vibrate during lecture. Laptops may not be used in class unless otherwise instructed.
Brandeis seeks to welcome and include all students. If you are a student who needs accommodations as outlined in an accommodations letter, please talk with me and present your letter of accommodation as soon as you can. I want to support you.
In order to provide test accommodations, I need the letter more than 48 hours in advance. I want to provide your accommodations, but cannot do so retroactively. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting accommodations, please contact Student Accessibility Support (SAS) at 781.736.3470 or access@brandeis.edu.
Note: the course outline is alive and breathing, so it may evolve spontaneously as the course goes along.
Readings: Fullerton and Stavins (1998); Boyle and Kotchen (2018); McCarthy (2019)Readings: Keohane and Olmstead Chapter 2 (pp 11-30); Do you think like an economist (LA Times)Readings: Keohane and Olmstead Chapter 5; Hardin(1968)Readings: Keohane and Olmstead Chapter 8; Ronald Coase and the Misuse of Economics (New Yorker); Ostrom(2009)'s Nobel Prize Press ReleaseReadings: Keohane and Olmstead Chapter pp 168-184; Keohane and Olmstead pp 200-207; The Invisible Green Hand (The Economist)Readings: Goodstein and Polasky Chapter 4Readings: Goodstein and Polasky Chapter 5Readings: Tietenberg and Lewis Chapter 3Readings: Keohane and Olmstead Chapter 6