ENERGY AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- LEONZIO GIUSEPPE RIZZO
- Credits
- 7
- Curriculum
- Green economy and sustainability
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- SECS-P/03
Training objectives
- The course aims to provide the tools for understanding the energy and natural resources market. Particular emphasis will be given to the ratio of public intervention in a world where there is the production of polluting goods. Subsequently, we will focus on the effectiveness of the intervention of some policies aimed, for example, at promoting the transition of the energy system towards more sustainable paths - also in line with the main European directives (Energy Union); to reduce the level of pollution; to increase the separate collection of waste.
In the first part we will analyze, with classroom exercises, some specific cases of application of policies aimed at lowering the level of pollution. In particular, the role of the carbon tax compared to other alternative tools to combat carbon dioxide emissions and that of the punctual tariff in encouraging the separate collection of waste. Finally, we will focus on the impact of state architecture in determining the impact of subsidy policies on fuel prices.
The second part will study, also with the help of classroom exercises, the functioning of the energy and natural resources market. A block of lessons will focus on traditional sources (coal, oil, natural and nuclear gas), providing students with the tools necessary to understand the evolution of both supply and demand. A second block of lessons will be dedicated to renewable sources, studying: the drivers of their development, their environmental impact and the role of public policies in the energy transition. Finally, a final block of lessons will be dedicated to the liberalization of the energy market and its economic, technological and political-institutional impact. Prerequisites
- Microeconomics, Econometrics
Course programme
- 1) Environmental externalities and their corrections: theory and applications.
a) the Pigouvian taxes;
b) Pigouvian subsidies;
c) the use of fees with respect to the cap and trade method;
d) pay as you throw system to separate waste collection;
e) the functioning of the market for rights to pollute.
Reference text: Rosen, H.S. and Gayer, T. (2014) Externalities, chapter 5 - Part II, in Public Finance, Global Edition.
2) Introduction to Stata and the use of the synthetic control method. Reference paper: Abadie. A. (2019) "Using Synthetic Controls: Feasibility, Data Requirements, and Methodological Aspects." Journal of Economic Literature, forthcoming.
3) Impact of the use of the carbon tax compared to other methods for reducing CO2 emissions. Analysis and discussion of the paper: Andersson, J. J. (2019), Carbon Taxes and CO2 Emissions: Sweden as a Case Study, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 11 (4): 1-30.
4) Incentives for separate waste collection through the adoption a pay as you throw system. Discussion of the case of the tariff adopted by Hera for the city of Ferrara. Analysis and discussion of the paper: Rizzo, L. and Secomandi, R., (2020) The impact of a Pay as you throw (PAYT) system on recycling in an urban area: the case of Ferrara, MIMEO
5) The relationship between public subsidies and fuel prices. Analysis of the determinants of subsidies related to the architecture of the institutions that decide the extent. Analysis and discussion of the paper: Ferraresi, M., Kotsogiannis C. and Rizzo, L. (2018) Decentralization and Fuel Subsidies, Energy Economics, Vol. 74, 275-286.
6) Traditional sources of energy: coal, oil, natural and nuclear gas. Analysis of the evolution of supply and demand.
7) Economics of renewable sources: taxonomy, evolution, technical aspects, drivers of their development and environmental impact.
8) The liberalization of the energy market: history and implications.
Analysis and discussion of the papers:
Nicolli, F., & Vona, F. (2016). Heterogeneous policies, heterogeneous technologies: The case of renewable energy, Energy Economics, 56, 190–204;
Nicolli, F., & Vona, F. (2019). Energy market liberalization and renewable energy policies in OECD countries, Energy Policy, 128, 853-867. Didactic methods
- Class lectures and exercises. For information on attendance see: http://www.unife.it/economia/lm.economia/studiare/orario-lezioni
Learning assessment procedures
- Written exam and computer classroom simulation.
The exam will test the level of students reached in the educational objectives. The exam is structured into two questions, one on the theoretical part of the course and one on the implementation of an exercise similar to those analyzed in the articles in the classroom. To pass the exam, the student must obtain a score of 18/31 and a minimum score of 10/15 for the first question and 10/16 in the second question. Reference texts
- Abadie. A. (2019) “Using Synthetic Controls: Feasibility, Data Requirements, and Methodological Aspects.” Journal of Economic Literature.
Abadie A., Diamond A. and Hainmueller J., (2010) Synthetic Control Methods for Comparative Case Studies: Estimating the Effect of California’s Tobacco Control Program, Journal of the American Statistical Association, 105:490.
Andersson, J. J. (2019), Carbon Taxes and CO2 Emissions: Sweden as a Case Study, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 11 (4): 1-30.
Angrist J. D. and Pischke J. S. (2015) Mastering 'Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect.
Ferraresi, M., Kotsogiannis C. and Rizzo, L. (2018) Decentralisation and Fuel Subsidies, Energy Economics, Vol. 74, 275-286.
Kotsogiannis, C. and Rizzo, L. (2016) Fuel-price subsidies and the control of corruption: a first approach, chapter in The Economics and Political Economy of Energy Subsidies, MIT Press, Jon Strand.
Rosen, H.S. and Gayer, T. (2014) Externalities, chapter 5 – Part II, in Public Finance, Global Edition.
Rizzo, L. and Secomandi, R., (2020) The impact of a Pay as you throw (PAYT) system on recycling in an urban area: the case of Ferrara, MIMEO.
Olah, G. A., Goeppert, A., Surya Prakash, G. K. (2018). Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy, 3rd Edition. ISBN: 978-3-527-33803-0. https://www.wiley.com/enus/Beyond+Oil+and+Gas%3A+The+Methanol+Economy%2C+3rd+Edit-p-9783527338030
Nesta, L., Vona, F., & Nicolli, F. (2014). Environmental policies, competition and innovation in renewable energy. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 67(3), 396–411.
Sanyal, P., & Ghosh, S., 2013. Product market competition and upstream innovation: evidence from the US electricity market deregulation. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 95(1), 237–254.
Nicolli, F., & Vona, F. (2016). Heterogeneous policies, heterogeneous technologies: The case of renewable energy. Energy Economics, 56, 190–204.
Nicolli, F., & Vona, F. (2019). Energy market liberalization and renewable energy policies in OECD countries. Energy Policy, 128, 853-867.
Additional teaching material will be available in the course's Google Classroom.
