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HU Credits:
4
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
economics
Semester:
Yearly
Teaching Languages:
English
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
None
Coordinator Office Hours:
None
Teaching Staff:
Dr. Avraham Ebenstein
Course/Module description:
What is the role of the government in regulating pollution? Is there an optimal amount of pollution (that isn’t zero)? Should some countries be allowed to pollute more than others? This seminar will tackle these questions and others while introducing students to the core concepts of environmental economics. Topics including externalities, public goods, sustainability, property rights, non-market valuation and social cost-benefit analysis. These concepts will be applied to issues arising in environmental economics, current policy debates, and evaluation of recent and important papers in the field.
Course/Module aims:
The purpose of this seminar is for each student to produce an original piece of research. The paper must be empirical in nature and examine a question related to environmental economics. I will consider any topic that has even a tangential association with environmental issues to be fair game but all papers must meet certain standards of style, quality, and empirical content.
Students can either work alone or in groups. The final paper should be a maximum of 4,000 words including footnotes, endnotes and tables. Papers, as well as all assignments, can be completed in either Hebrew or English.
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
The successful student will:
1. Understand basic concepts in environmental economics
2. Be equipped to critically evaluate empirical research in environmental economics
3. Analyze empirical data
4. Produce tables and figures of publication-worthy quality
5. Describe their results for an academic audience
Attendance requirements(%):
100
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
During the first semester, students will learn about the various stages of the research process as well as core concepts in environmental economics. The class will meet weekly and attendance will be mandatory.
During the second semester, the skills gained will be applied to the student’s research paper. Students will be expected to meet with the lecturer several times over the course of the semester.
Course/Module Content:
Schedule for the Semester:
October 20th. Introduction to the Study of Environmental Economics
Course and personal introductions. Overview of the policy research seminar structure and introduction to the topic of environmental economics.
Readings for next week: Solow (1991).
October 27th. Asking Questions, Finding Data, and Writing a Research Paper
What are reasonable questions to ask in the field of environmental economics? How do we formulate a hypothesis? Where can we find data? What is the format of a research paper?
Readings for next week: Kelman (1981), Arrow (1996)
Assignments: Bonus question on Solow reading in class.
November 3rdh. Core Concepts: Benefit-Cost Criteria in Environmental Economics
How do economists evaluate the appropriate level of regulation in the context of the environment? We will explore this question by reviewing benefit-cost criteria and discussing this in the context of the assigned readings.
Assignments: Bonus question on Kelman and Arrow readings in class.
November 10th. How Does One Write an Introduction – or even the First Paragraph?
The key to a well written research paper is the introduction, and a reader’s interest is often determined by the end of the first paragraph. In this session, we will discuss the proper design and format of an introduction appropriate for the discipline of economics.
Readings for next week: Tietenberg (1990), Barthold (1994), Schmalensee et al. (1998),
Assignments: Each student will submit a proposed first paragraph of their paper, which will be written during the session.
November 17th. Core Concepts: Tradable Permits, Emission Fees, and the Environmental Kuznets Curve.
How do environmental policymakers weigh the pros and cons of different policy levers? In what circumstances are tradable permits preferable to Pigouvian taxes?
Readings for next week: Dockery et al. (1993), Chen et al. (2013), Ebenstein (2012)
Assignments: Bonus question on reading in class.
November 24th. Core Concepts: Causal Inference in Environmental Economics - When Can We Infer Causation from a Correlation?
Challenges remain to convince skeptics that pollution is directly responsible for health ailments. How does one overcome the fundamental challenge of causal inference?
Assignments: Problem Set 1 empirical results due December 4th.
December 1st. Tables Boot Camp.
This class will be dedicated to how I expect students to present their tabular results in their research paper. The class will consist of a demonstration of proper table-making and then we will break up into a study-hall context in which you will work on your formatting.
Assignments: Properly formatted Tables from Problem Set 1 due at the end of class.
December 8th. Figures Boot Camp.
This class will be dedicated to how I expect students to present their graphical results in their research paper. The class will consist of a demonstration of proper figure-making and then we will break up into a study-hall context in which you will work on your formatting.
Assignments: Properly formatted Figures from Problem Set 1 due at the end of class.
Readings for next week:
Contingent Valuation Debate: Diamond and Hausman (1994), Viscusi (1993),
Hanemann (1994)
Environmental Kuznets Curve: Levinson (2000), Grossman and Krueger (1994)
Free Trade: Bagwhati and Daly (1993)
December 15th. Debates: (a) Contingent Valuation as a Tool to Assess Damages and (b) Does Free Trade Cause Pollution? and (c) Is there an Environmental Kuznets Curve?
Several heated debates currently rage within the field of environmental economics. In this session, we will examine these debates in the context of several classic papers in the field.
Assignments: Students will be assigned to one of 4 position groups and present informed positions related to ongoing debates in the field of environmental economics. Group assignments will be given at the beginning of class and a short write-up of the group’s main argument will be turned in at the conclusion of the session. Time permitting, several groups will be called upon to describe their position and their arguments.
December 22st. Individual meetings with Dr. Ebenstein.
Class time will be used for individual meetings to discuss the research project.
December 29th. Student presentations of their research project (or proposal).
Each group will be required to submit a powerpoint of their research project as it stands.
Preliminary results are ideal but not required. However, each group will be expected to present a
coherent research question and their anticipated approach to answering the question. Each group
will be given 15 minutes to present their research question, why it’s important or interesting, or
ideally, both.
January 5th. No Class
January 12th. Student presentations of their research project (or proposal).
January 19th. Student presentations of their research project (or proposal).
CLASS DOES NOT MEET SECOND SEMESTER (UNLESS NOTIFIED OTHERWISE) Individual Appointments with Dr. Ebenstein will be available through Google calendar.
Required Reading:
1. Solow, Robert M. “Sustainability: An Economist’s Perspective,” in Stavins (editor), Economics of the Environment: Selected Readings, 4th Edition, 2000, Ch. 5, pp. 131-138. (Chapter 5 in EESR). Original article from 1991.
2. Kelman, Steven, “Cost-Benefit Analysis: An Ethical Critique,” in Stavins (editor), Economics of the Environment: Selected Readings, 4th Edition, 2000, Ch. 15, pp. 355-370. (Chapter 15 in EESR; also read the replies in EESR) . Original article from 1981.
3. Arrow, Kenneth, et al. 1996. “Is there a Role for Benefit-Cost Analysis in Environmental Health, and Safety Regulation?” Science, April 12, 1996.
4. Tietenberg, Thomas. 1990. “Economic Instruments for Environmental Regulation,” Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 6 (1) 17-33.
5. Barthold, Thomas A. 1994. “Issues in the Design of Environmental Excise Taxes,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8 (1): 133-51.
6. Schmalensee, et al. 1998. “An Interim Evaluation of Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Trading”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12 (3): 53-68.
7. Dockery, Douglas W., et. al. 1993. “An Association Between Air Pollution and Mortality in Six U.S. Cities.” The New England Journal of Medicine, 329(24): 1753-9.
8. Chen, Yuyu, Avraham Ebenstein, Michael Greenstone, and Hongbin Li. 2013. “Evidence on the Impact of Sustained Exposure to Air Pollution from China’s Huai River Policy.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA August 6th; 12936-41.
9. Ebenstein, Avraham. “Water Pollution and Digestive Cancers in China”, 2012, Review of Economics and Statistics 94(1):186–201
10. Diamond, Peter A., and Jerry A. Hausman (1994) “Contingent Valuation: Is Some Number Better than No Number?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8 (4): 45-64.
11. Viscusi, W. Kip. 1993. “The Value of Risks to Life and Health,” Journal of Economic Literature, 31: 1912-1946.
12. Hanemann, Michael W. (1994) “Valuing the Environment Through Contingent Valuation,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8 (4): 19-43.
13. Grossman, Gene and Alan Krueger. 1995. “Economic Growth and the Environment,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110(2): 353-377.
14. Levinson, Arik. 2000. “The Ups and Downs of the Environmental Kuznets Curve,” mimeo, Georgetown.
15. Bhagwati, Jagdish and Herman Daly. 1993. “Debate: Does Free Trade Harm the Environment?” Scientific American, 269 (5), pp 41-57.
Additional Reading Material:
None
Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 20 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 15 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 65 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %
Additional information:
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