Sumell, Environmental and Resource Economics Syllabus, Spring 2015
ECON 3705 – CRN 27135
Environmental and Resource Economics
T Th9:30 – 10:45a.m.
DeBartolo 260
Instructor:Albert J. Sumell
Office:314 DeBartolo
Phone:(330) 941-1678
e-mail:
website:
Office Hours: 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Mondays; 2:30 - 3:00 p.m. and 5:20 – 5:50 pm Tuesdays; 1:30 – 3:30 pm Thursdays; or anytime by appointment.
Prerequisites: Economics 1501 or 2610
Course Description and Objectives:
The purpose of the course is to learn fundamental theories, methods, and models within environmental economics and apply microeconomic analysis towards major environmental issues. The primary objective is to stimulate critical thinking about current environmental and natural resource problems and the public policies designed to alleviate them. Students should already have an understanding of basic microeconomic concepts, and willgain experience usingthese concepts in order to analyze and understand real world environmental problems faced by policymakers. By the end of the course students should be able to:
- Understand the methods and approaches economists use to estimatevalue for non-market environmental benefits and damages.
- Identify the causes of and apply economic theory to several contemporary environmental policy issues, including those in or near the Youngstown area.
- Know how to determine the efficient level of pollution and evaluate various costs and benefits associated with pollution abatement.
- Determine and explain appropriate management tools and instruments available to policymakers to control for various types of pollution (air, water, and toxic waste).
Required Materials:
- Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Tom Tietenberg and Lynne Lewis, 10th edition, Pearson.
- Several articles on relevant environmental topics will be handed out and/or posted online.
Basis for grading:
-Participation/Attendance: 5%
-Assignments/Paper Summary: 15%
-Midterms: 35% (17.5% each).
-Final Paper: 20%
-Final Exam: 25%
Exams: The exams will be in-class. I will spend some portion of the class before the exam establishing expectations for the exam, but I will not spend a significant amount of time in class reviewing the material. Study guides with practice problems that will not be graded will be posted on the class website before each exam. The exams will consist of multiple choice, short-answer, and explain questions. The final is comprehensive, but will focus on material given after the second midterm.
If you miss an exam you will have to notify me either prior to the exam or within 24 hours of the exam. Make-ups will only be given if circumstances outside of your control prevent you from taking the exam.
Assignments: There will be at least twoassignments that you will have at least five days to complete. These will consist of specific environmental problems, discussion questions, and/or actual analysis of a polluted area. Late assignments will be penalized
Attendance Policy:Attendance is not mandatory, in that I will not directly subtract points from your grade if you miss class. However, consistent attendance is the single most important requirement to doing well in the class. You are responsible for all work missed during class regardless of the reason. If possible, it is best to make a copy of another student’s lecture notes from any class you miss. You should also check the class website to see if anything has been posted. If you must leave class early please let me know before class begins. I will keep track of the number of classes you miss as well as your participation to determine your attendance/participation grade.
Final Paper: The idea of the final paper is to encourage you demonstrate your knowledge of one environmental policy issue and to expand upon it. I will offer suggestions for papers, but you are free to pick any topic that interests you so long as it is relevant to environmental economics. You are required to hand in a short proposal, which is composed of a topic idea, a thesis statement, and one credible reference. This is due the class before Spring Break (March 9). I am happy to meet with you to discuss your topic and update me on your progress so that I may offer suggestions and help you to obtain relevant readings.
I am not expecting a major breakthrough, just that you are able to demonstrate that you can formulate an interesting policy question, can apply your knowledge of economics to the real world to answer the question, and can communicate your results clearly and concisely. The paper must be at least 5 but not more than 8 pages in length (double spaced / 12 point font), excluding references and figures. You will be required to use at least three credible references to build your analysis. Credible is defined as written work appearing in published scholarly journals, books, periodicals or government reports. Of course, you will want to use the web as a research tool, but writings posted to the web (unless you can document that it is a web-posting of something previously published in a “credible” source such as a journal) does not count as part of your references.
The final paper is due on the last day of class, and your paper grade will be reduced by 5 points per day if late. The last page of this syllabus is the scoring key which I encourage to use as a guide while writing your paper.
Note: You will receive a 5 point bonus on your final paper grade if you submit a version of it to the Stocks Essay Competition. The deadline for submission is in mid-April. There is no cost to submitting a paper so have nothing to lose. There are also cash prizes for the authors of the top 3 papers and a free dinner if you are one of the top 10 finalists.
Academic Honesty:
Don’t cheat. If you are caught cheating on an exam or plagiarizing, you will be given a grade of 0 and possibly brought up on charges of academic misconduct. Refer to The Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct ().
Statement Regarding Disabilities:
Anyone requiring special adaptations or accommodations should inform the instructor as soon as possible. In accordance with University procedures, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the Office of Disability Services (phone: 330-941-1372) in the Center for Student Progress at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Disability Services. CSP Disability Services is located at 275 Fifth Ave.
Tentative Course Outline - Subject to changes:
1/13 – 1/15: Chapter 1: Intro / Role of economics in the environment
1/20–1/22:Chapter 2: Market Failure: externalities and public goods
1/27 – 1/29:Chapter 3: Benefit-Cost Analysis
2/3 – 2/5:Chapter 4: Methods to Valuing the Environment
2/10 – 2/12: Wrap up/review/Midterm 1
2/17 - 2/19: Handouts: Population and Development
2/24 – 2/26: Chapter 5: Efficiency and Sustainable Development
3/3 – 3/5:Chapter 6: Depletable Resources
3/10 – 3/12: No class: SPRING BREAK
3/17 – 3/19:Chapter 7: Energy
3/24 – 3/26: Wrap up/review/Midterm 2
3/31 – 4/2:Chapter 14: Economics of Pollution Control
4/7 – 4/9:Chapter 15: Air Pollution
4/14 – 4/16: Chapter 16: Climate Change
4/21 – 4/23: Chapter 17: Auto Congestion
4/28 – 4/30: Chapter 20,21: Growth and Development, Future Problems
Final Exam: Thursday, May 7, 8 – 10 am
Note: 3/26 is the last day to withdraw and receive a “W”
FINAL PAPER
Staple this sheet to one copy of your paper
Your analysis should answer the following five questions, with questions 3, 4, and 5 being the majority of your discussion (meaning, at least half the total length of the assignment). It is recommended that you apply and use real world examples in answering all of these questions.
1. What is the current state of the issue?
2. Why should we care about the issue?
3. What are the current public policies designed to affect the issue?
4. What are the strengths (if any) and the weaknesses (if any) of the current public policies?
5. What changes and/or new policies could be implemented to improve the situation?
Your paper should be at least5 typed pages, double-spaced, with a 12-point font and one-inch margins. You will be graded on content, grammar, punctuation, spelling and style. It should be written in an active voice and have clear transitions. Carefully edit your paper before turning it in. Be certain to appropriately attribute your sources (e.g., parenthetical citations, quotation marks, footnotes, etc.).
Possible Points / Your GradeGrammar/Spelling/Etc.
Free from spelling errors (1 pt. per error) / 5
Free from grammatical errors (1 pt. per error) / 8
Paper is formatted as indicated / 5
Free from punctuation errors (1 pt. per error) / 5
Paper is written in a mostly active voice / 5
Content
Fully answered question 1 and used examples to illustrate / 8
Fully answered question 2 and used examples to illustrate / 8
Fully answered question 3 / 8
Fully answered question 4 and used examples to illustrate / 10
Fully answered question 5 and used examples to illustrate / 10
Questions 3, 4, and 5 comprise at least half of the discussion / 10
Used relevant economic analysis throughout paper to form or back arguments / 18
TOTAL / 100
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