Week 1
Monday, 9/12
- Introduction to the course
Wednesday, 9/14
- Fullerton, Don and Robert N. Stavins. 1998. “How Economists See the Environment.” Nature 395 (October 1, 1998): 433-34. (Stavins, Chapter 1) ERES
- Sandmo, Agnar. 2015. “The Early History of Environmental Economics.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 9(1): 43-63 ERES
Week 2
Monday, 9/19
- Two-page summary of a paper from the National Bureau of Economics Research: Environment due in class.
Wednesday, 9/21
- “A County Where the Sewer Is Your Lawn.” Catherine Coleman Flowers. The New York Times (May 22, 2018).
- “Mold, Possums and Pools of Sewage: No One Should Have to Live Like This.” Catherine Coleman Flowers. The New York Times (Nov. 14, 2020).
- Two-page paper proposal due by 6:00PM on Sunday, September 26
Week 3
Monday, 9/26
- “A Tale of Two Fisheries.” John Tierney. The New York Times (August 27th, 2000).
- Stavins, Robert N. “The Problem of the Commons: Still Unsettled after 100 Years.” American Economic Review101, no. 1 (2011): 81–108.
Wednesday, 9/28
- Baumol, William J. and Wallace E. Oates. 1988. The Theory of Environmental Policy (Chapter 3.) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ERES
- Required talk: “Misguided Economic Pursuit and Depleted Planetary Boundaries Planetary Emergency on the 50th Anniversary of the Club of Rome ‘Limits to Growth’ Report.” Mahaney Arts Center at 7:00PM
Week 4
Monday, 10/3
- Spencer Banzhaf et al. “Environmental Justice: The Economics of Race, Place, and Pollution.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 33 (1)—Winter 2019: 185–208.
- Aptekar, Sofya, and Justin S. Myers. 2020. “The Tale of Two Community Gardens: Green Aesthetics versus Food Justice in the Big Apple.” Agriculture and Human Values 37 (3): 779–92.
Wednesday, 10/5
- Meeting with Ryan Clement (tentative).
- Review of four journal articles due by 6:00PM on Sunday, October 10
Week 5
Monday, 10/10
- “The Miracle of the Commons.” Michelle Nijhuisi. Aeon. May 4, 2021.
- Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action . Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 (in two parts) on ERES.
Wednesday, 10/12
- Solow, Robert. 1992. “An Almost Practical Step Toward Sustainability.” Paper presented at Resources for the Future, Washington, DC. (also on ERES)
Week 6
Monday, 10/17
- Dasgupta, Susmita et al. 2002. “Confronting the Environmental Kuznets Curve.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 16 (1): 147-68.
Wednesday, 10/19
- Isham, Jonathan, et al. 2005. “The Varieties of the Resource Experience.” The World Bank Economic Review 9 (2): 141-74
Week 7
Monday, 10/24
- Review for mid-term exam.
- Suggested mid-term questions.
Wednesday, 10/26
- Mid-term exam
Week 8
Monday, 10/31
- Discussion of research papers.
Wednesday, 11/2
- Kurlansky, Mark. Cod: a Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.
Week 9
Monday, 11/7
- “The Cost of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Kenneth Gillingham and James H. Stock. Journal of Economic Perspectives 32(4), Fall 2018 (pp. 53-72)
- “Will We Ever Stop Using Fossil Fuels?” Thomas Covert, Michael Greenstone, and Christopher Knittel. Journal of Economic Perspectives 30(1), Winter 2016 (pp. 117-138).
- “An alternative policy evaluation of the British Columbia carbon tax broadening the application of Elinor Ostrom’s design principles for managing common-pool resources.” Karine Lacroix and Garrett Richards. Ecology and Society, Vol. 20, No. 2 (June 2015).
Wednesday, 11/9
- “A Statement on the Appropriate Role for Research and Development in Climate Policy.” Kenneth Arrow et al. Reg-Markets Center Working Paper No. 08-12. 2008.
- “Innovation for sustainability: The impact of R&D spending on CO2 emissions.” Fernández Fernández, M.A.Fernández López, and B.Olmedillas Blanco. Journal of Cleaner Production (172) 20. January 2018.
- First draft of research paper due by 6:00 PM on Sunday, November 14.
Week 10
Monday, 11/14
- “Economics of Nuclear and Renewables.” Hisham Khatiba and Carmine Difigliob, Energy Policy Volume 96, September 2016, Pages 740-750.
- “Some whats, whys and worries of geoengineering.” Dale Jamieson. Climatic Change (121) 3, (Dec 2013): 527-537.
Wednesday, 11/16
- “The Shipbreakers of Bangladesh.” VICE International. February 9, 2015.
- “Shipbreaking at Alang–Sosiya (India): An ecological distribution conflict.” Federico Demaria. 2010. Ecological Economics 70(2): 250-260.
- “The Shipbreakers.” William Langewiesche. The Atlantic. Aug 2000
- Peer review due by 6:00PM on Sunday, November 21.
Week 11 – Thanksgiving week
Week 12
Monday, 11/28
- Paper presentations
Wednesday, 11/30
- Paper presentations
Week 13
Monday, 12/5
- Paper presentations
Wednesday, 12/7
- Paper presentations
December 14 – 19: oral exams
- Final draft of papers due at 5:00PM on Monday, December 19