| Date | Topic | Reading before class |
| 1/5 | 1. Introduction and welcome. What is this course? What is economics? Environmental economics? The place of economics in policy? (PowerPoint version) |
K&O: Chapter 1 Don Fullerton and Robert Stavins, “How Economists See the Environment,” Nature, 395:6 701 (1998). (Note: this is a key reading in only 2 pages. I will refer back to this reading many times over the course of the quarter. It is worth digesting and rereading.)
|
1/7 - 1/9 |
2. Economic Efficiency and Environmental Protection (PowerPoint version) Short animation demonstrating how marginal benefits increment to total benefits (will discuss in class). |
K&O: Chapter 2 |
1/12 |
(MEETING PLACE: Regular classroom, Olson 261) 3. The Efficiency of Markets (PowerPoint version) Classroom experiment: "Supply and Demand" |
K&O: Chapter 4 “Supply and demand” (Experiment 1) in Theodore C. Bergstrom and John H. Miller, Experiments with Economic Principles: Microeconomics, 2nd edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2000. (Read pages 3-6 [the first three pages of the PDF] before class. Skim the rest of the chapter, reading in depth as needed to fully understand and complete the problem set questions that will be assigned.) |
1/14 |
4. Market Failures in the Environmental Realm (PowerPoint version) | K&O: Chapter 5 Garrett Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” Science, 162:1243-48 (1968). (Read the first two pages and conclusion carefully. Skim the rest, in detail only as needed for homework assignments or as directed in class discussion.) |
| 1/16 | 4. Market Failures in the Environmental Realm, cont'd | |
| 1/21 | 5. What is the optimal level of pollution control? (PowerPoint version) | A graph |
| 1/23 | The Benefits
and Costs of Environmental
Protection: 6. Overview and introduction to discounting (PowerPoint version) | K&O: Chapter 3, K&O Chapter 2 pp. 28-30 Discounting handout: Print out and bring to class |
| 1/26 | MEET IN COMPUTER LAB (whole class): 93 Hutchison |
"Arsenic in Drinking Water": Kennedy School case study, which can be purchased on-line (for $2.75) at: http://www.ksgcase.harvard.edu/casetitle.asp?caseNo=1680.0 SHORT PRE-assignment due at the beginning of class: Complete this Reading Guide for the case study and bring TWO COMPLETED COPIES to class (on Monday 1/26). One copy you'll turn in for participation credit and one copy you'll keep for the discussion. (Here's a pdf version of the Reading Guide.) |
| 1/28 | The Benefits and Costs of Environmental Protection: 6. Overview and introduction to discounting, cont'd | K&O: Chapter 3 |
| 1/30 | The Benefits and Costs of Environmental Protection: 7. Measuring Benefits -- updated with minor editorial changes on 2/2 (Powerpoint version) | |
| 2/2 | MEET IN REGULAR CLASSROOM The Benefits and Costs of Environmental Protection: 7. Measuring Benefits, cont'd Review Homework 4 (problem set) and other concepts/problems for midterm. | K&O: Chapter 3 |
| 2/4 | Review Homework 4 (problem set) and other concepts/problems for midterm. This will likely take most of the class but, if there's time we'll continue with: |
K&O: Chapter 3 |
2/6 |
MIDTERM | |
| 2/9 | MEET IN REGULAR CLASSROOM Guest speaker: Dan Lew, NOAA: "Economic values for protecting threatened and endangered species: the case of the Steller sea lion" | |
2/11 | The Benefits and Costs of Environmental Protection: 8. Measuring Costs (Powerpoint version) | K&O: Chapter 3 |
| 2/13 | 9. Application: the economics of climate change (Powerpoint version) | Aldy,
Joseph E. and Robert N. Stavins. "Designing the Next International Climate
Agreement." RFF
Weekly Policy Commentary (September 24, 2007). |
2/16 | NO CLASS - President's Day | |
2/18 | 9. Application: the economics of climate change, cont'd | |
| 2/20 | NO CLASS | |
| 2/23 | Policy for market failure: 10. Overview of instruments & evaluation criteria (Powerpoint version) 11. Decentralized policies (Powerpoint version) | K&O: Chapter 8 |
| 2/25 | Policy for market failure: 12. Prescriptive policy: Command and control (Powerpoint version) | K&O: Chapter 8 |
| 2/27 | Policy for market failure: Market-based instruments 13. Overview and price instruments (Powerpoint version) | K&O: Chapter 9 K&O: Chapter 10 |
| 3/2 | MEET IN COMPUTER LAB (whole class): 93 Hutchison Congestion, Externalities and Congestion Pricing (Powerpoint version) | We will continue our discussion of price instruments and participate in an in-class experiment: "Driving externalities, congestion and tolls." There is no assignment associated with this exercise. However, you will have a chance to earn up to 3 points of extra credit that will be applied to your final exam. |
| 3/4 | Policy for market failure: Market-based instruments 14. Cap and trade (Powerpoint version) Additional slides: Cheat neutral, offsetting (Powerpoint version) | |
| 3/6 | 14. Cap and trade, cont'd | |
| 3/9 | Meet in regular classroom (Olson) Classroom experiment: "Externalities" (with taxes and cap and trade) | “Externalities” (Experiment 6) in Theodore C. Bergstrom and John H. Miller, Experiments with Economic Principles: Microeconomics, 2nd edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2000. FOR PARTICIPATION CREDIT: Read the first two pages (pp. 155-156) of “Externalities” (Experiment 6). Complete and turn in the "Warm-up Exercise" (pp. 157-158, questions 6.1 - 6.6) at the beginning of class. |
| 3/11 | K&O: Chapter 11 Note: optional replacement assignment credit opportunity will require attending lecture by visiting speaker: “Incorporating Economics into Biological Conservation Decisions”, Juha Siikamaki (Resources for the Future), PES 3001, 4:10-5:30 P.M. | |
| 3/13 | 15. Sustainability and economic growth If you previously printed out part 1: [part 1, part 2] IF NOT then use the version below: [all together] (Powerpoint version, all together) | K&O: Chapter 11 |
| 3/16 | 15. Sustainability and economic growth | |
| 3/19 | FINAL EXAM |