ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND POLICY
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2015/2016
- Teacher
- MASSIMILIANO MAZZANTI
- Credits
- 7
- Curriculum
- Management dei servizi pubblici e economia del territorio
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- SECS-P/01
Training objectives
- The aim of the course is the investigation of environmental economics and policy theory, with its applications by means of quantitative analysis and case studies
Students who complete this course will develop:
• An understanding of the key links between economics and environmental issues
• An understanding of the role of environmental policies in the path towards sustainability and the green economy, including the induced innovation effect of policies
• Knowledge and skills to analyze major environmental issues from an economic perspective, with applications to firms and sector analyses
• Basic knowledge on the main evaluation tools to assess environmental policies and society’s willingness to pay for the conservation and amelioration of public goods (cost benefit analyses) Prerequisites
- prior knowledge of micro and macro economics (not advanced) are necessary. elements of public economics are relevant.
The applied analysis requires basic knowledge of econometrics and elements of management related to innovation theory Course programme
- Introduction to the course
Basic Concepts of Environmental Economics (8 hours)
Markandya et al. (2012), Blueprint for a green economy, Earthscan.
Ch 3-7 Kolstad (2000), Environmental Economics, Oxford University Press
Lecture Notes and slides
Environmental Policy (12 hours)
Readings
Ch 11, Ch.12, Ch 14 Ch 17 Kolstad (2000), Environmental Economics, Oxford University Press
Pearce DW (2005), Energy Economics: The Political economy of an energy tax
Baumol & Oates – A theory of environmental policy (chapter 11, Optimality without efficiency), 1986
Emissions trading: Cheap and dirty, Financial Times, February 13, 2012, By Joshua Chaffin
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/135e1172-5636-11e1-8dfa-00144feabdc0.html#axzz25sUJU2Yv
Lecture Notes and slides
Environmental Policy, innovation and economic performances (16 hours)
Popp, D. (2003). Pollution control innovations and the clean Air Act of 1990. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 22 (4), 641-660.
Popp, D. (2006). International innovation and diffusion of Air Pollution Control technologies: The effects of NOX and SO2 regulation in the US, Japan, and Germany. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 51 (1), 46-71.
Porter, M., & Van der Linde, C., (1995). Toward a new conception of the environment- competitiveness relationship. Journal of Economic Perspective, 9 (4), 97–118.
Porter, M., (1991). America’s Green Strategy. Scientific American, 264 (4), 168.
Porter, M., Van der Linde, C., (1995). Toward a new conception of the environment- competitiveness relationship. Journal of Economic Perspective, 9 (4), 97–118.
Porter, M.E. (2010). Reflections on a hypothesis: lessons for policy, research and corporate practice. Presentation at the Porter hypothesis at 20 Conference, Montreal, Canada, 28 June, available at www.sustainableprosperity.ca
Milliman S. R., and Prince R. (1989) Firm incentives to promote technological change in pollution. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 17, 247-265.
Mohnen P. Roller L.H. (2005) Complementarities in Innovation Policy, European Economic Review, vol. 49 n. 6 pp. 1431-50
Jaffe, Adam B., Steven R. Peterson, and Paul R. Portney. "Environmental Regulation and the Competitiveness of U.S. Manufacturing: What Does the Evidence Tell Us?" Journal of Economic Literature, March 1995.
Lecture Notes and slides
Making Decisions about the Environment (Cost benefit Analysis, option values, discounting) (16 hours)
Ch 4 (section III) and Ch 6 Kolstad (2000), Environmental Economics, Oxford University Press
“Cost-Benefit Analysis: An Ethical Critique.” by Steven Kelman, from AEI Journal on Government and Society Regulation (1981) PP. 33—40.
OECD, 2006, by Pearce DW et al. Cost benefit analysis and the environment (pdf)
Krutilla J (1967), Conservation reconsidered, AER.
Ch 15-18 Kolstad (2000), Environmental Economics, Oxford University Press
Tol R.S.J., 1995, The Damage Costs of Climate Change Toward More Comprehensive Calculations, Environmental and Resource Economics 5, 353-374.
Popp D., R. Newell, A. Jaffe, 2009, ENERGY, The Environment, And Technological Change, NBER Working Paper 14832
Pearce DW, 2004, The social cost of Carbon, Oxford review of Economic Policy (the special issue is suggested as reading)
Slide set
Laboratory: Modelling and econometrics of dynamic environmental – economic performances including the role of innovation (4 hours)
Long term dynamics and Kuznets curves: climate change and waste scenarios
Policy and temporal effects: smooth dynamics and shocks
Sector heterogeneity and slope heterogeneity in econometric models
Slide sets and datasets (using STATA) Didactic methods
- lectures, essays, discussion in classes
The essays/papers are original works based on dataset provided by the teacher (eg. NAMEA; PATSTAT, WIOD, etc ..) Learning assessment procedures
- The course is based on active teaching methodologies aimed at maximizing students’ participation. In addition to theoretical sessions, all participants will be involved in the discussion of case studies.
Written test
optional oral test
Written test at the end of the course (two open questions on topics of the course) and essay of 5000-10000 words not obligatory complement (to be determined during the course with the teacher) Reference texts
- Main books of reference
Tietenberg T. (2005), Environmental and natural resource economics, Addison Wesley, Boston.
Kolstad (2000), Environmental Economics, Oxford University Press
Markandya et al. (2012), Blueprint for a green economy, Earthscan.
