Environmental Economics Reading Assignments

Transcription

1 Environmental Economics Reading Assignments A. Ronald Gallant Spring 1, 2010 Class #1 1. (required, pre-assignment) Chapters 1 3 in Keohane and Olmstead 2. (required, pre-assignment) Reinhardt, Forest, Bringing the Environment Down to Earth, Harvard Business Review, July August Follow-up reading: As a follow-up on our discussion of carbon footprints and for a framing of some general issues, you may find the following articles interesting. 1. (optional) Six Products, Six Carbon Footprints, Wall Street Journal, October 6, (optional) A Big Sum of Small Differences, Wall Street Journal, October 2, (optional) A New Dawn: The Benefits of Climate-Change Policies Are Limited And Costly. Instead the President-Elect Needs to Coolly Evaluate Competing Priorities, Says Bjørn Lomborg, Wall Street Journal, November 8 9, Class #2 1

2 1. (required) Chapters 4 5 in Keohane and Olmstead 2. (required) Fullerton, Don, and Robert N. Stavins (1998), How Economists See the Environment, Nature 395, (required) Skim the article by Kelman for his basic argument and read the three replies given at the end of the article: Kelman, Steven (1981), Cost- Benefit Analysis: An Ethical Critique, including replies, AEI Journal on Government and Society Regulation Januaries/February, Follow-up reading: none Class #3 1. (required) Chapter 8 pages on the Coase Theorem in Keohane and Olmstead 2. (required) At Plant in Coal Ash Spill, Toxic Deposits by the Ton, New York Times, December 30, Follow-up reading: As a follow-up on our discussion of the Tragedy of the Commons and the Coase Theorem, you might find it interesting to skim Hardin s original formulation of the Tragedy of the Commons and Coase s original writing on property rights. You can find the papers on the e-reserves site in the section for Famous but Tedious Papers. For a real-world version of the fish game problem, you can look at the Grafton paper: 1. (optional) Hardin, Garrett (1968), The Tragedy of the Commons, Science 162, (optional) Coase, Ronald (1960), The Problem of Social Cost, Journal of Law and Economics October (optional) Grafton, R. Quentin (1996), Individual Transferable Quotas: Theory and Practice, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 6, Class #4 2

3 1. (required) Materials for Vandenberg guest lecture (TBD) 2. (required was part of the pre-assignment) Reinhardt, Forest, Bringing the Environment Down to Earth, Harvard Business Review July August, (will be discussed in class) Porter, Michael E., and Claas van der Linde (1995), Toward a New Conception of the Environmental-Competitiveness Issue, Journal of Economic Perspectives 9(4), (will be discussed in class) Palmer, Karen, Wallace E. Oates, and Paul R. Portney (1995), Tightening Environmental Standards: The Benefit-Cost or the No-Cost Paradigm? Journal of Economic Perspectives 9(4), Follow-up reading: The fairly long article by Jaffe et al. argues that Overall, there is relatively little evidence to support the hypothesis that environmental regulations have had a large adverse effect on competitiveness, however that elusive term is defined. (p.157) The newspaper article Obscure Fee Pays for Efficient-Energy Projects suggests that some savings are possible by paying attention to energy efficiency. 1. (optional) Jaffe, Adam B., Steven R. Peterson, Paul R. Portney, and Robert N. Stavins (1995), Environmental Regulation and the Competitiveness of U.S. Manufacturing: What Does the Evidence Tell Us? Journal of Economic Literature 33, (optional) Obscure Fee Pays for Efficient-Energy Projects, New York Times, December 29, Class #5 1. (required) Chapter 8 in Keohane and Olmstead Follow-up reading: 1. (optional, interesting) In Turnaround, Industries Seek U.S. Regulations, New York Times, September 16,

4 2. (optional, interesting) Businesses In Bay Area May Pay Fee for Emissions, New York Times, April 17, (optional, legalistic) Keohane, Nathaniel O., Richard L. Revesz, and Robert N. Stavins (1998), The Choice of Regulatory Instruments in Environmental Policy, Harvard Environmental Law Review 22, (especially Section IV) 4. (optional) Hahn, Robert W. (2000), The Impact of Economics on Environmental Policy, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 39, (optional, technical) Weitzman, Martin L. (1974), Prices vs. Quantities, Review of Economic Studies 41(4), (optional, technical) Newell, Richard G., and William A. Pizer (2003), Regulating Stock Externalities Under Uncertainty, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 45, Class #6 1. (required) Chapters 9 10 pages in Keohane and Olmstead 2. (background material for class) Stavins, Robert N. (1998), What Can We Learn from the Grand Policy Experiment? Lessons from SO 2 Allowance Trading, Journal of Economic Perspectives 12(3), (background material for class) Paying to Pollute: Everything You Wanted to Know About Cap and Trade... But Didn t Even Know to Ask, Wall Street Journal, September 15, Follow-up reading: 1. (optional and controversial) Sandel, Michael J. (1997), It s Immoral to Buy the Right to Pollute, New York Times, December 15, 1997, p.a (informative but optional) Tietenberg, Tom H. (1990), Economic Instruments for Environmental Regulation, Oxford Review of Economic Policy 4

5 6(1), (optional) Europe Tells Airlines to Pay for Emissions, New York Times, June 27, (optional) States Aim to Cut Gases By Making Polluters Pay, New York Times, September 16, (optional) First Auction of Pollution Rights, New York Times, September 26, (optional related to PRB coal discussion) Wyoming s Bonanza: Plentiful Clean Coal, New York Times, December 28, Class #7 Midterm Class #8 none Follow-up reading: 1. (optional but related to homework assignment) Harrison, David Jr., and Daniel L. Rubinfeld (1978), Hedonic Housing Prices and the Demand for Clean Air, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 5(1), (optional) Viscusi, W. Kip (2000), The Value of Life in Legal Contexts: Survey and Critique, American Law and Economic Review 2(1), (very optional) Bockstael, Nancy E., W. Michael Hanemann, and Catherine L. Kling (1987), Estimating the Value of Water Quality Improvements in a Recreational Demand Framework, Water Resources Research 23(5), Class #9 1. (required) Materials for guest lecture to be announced. 5

6 Follow-up reading: none Class #10 none Follow-up reading: 1. (optional) Congress Nears Ban on Diverting Water from Great Lakes Basin, New York Times, September 23, Class #11 1. (required) Chapters 9 10 pages in Keohane and Olmstead 2. (required) Bansal, Ravi, and Marcelo Ochoa. Temperature, Growth, and Asset Prices, Working paper, Fuqua School of Business, December 23, 2009 Read the abstract, introduction, and conclsions. (on e-reserves) 3. (required) Chapter 5 of Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Super Freakonomics, William Morrow, 2009, ISBN (on e- reserves) 4. (required) Kevin Bullis, The Geoengineering Gambit, Technology Review, January/February (on e-reserves) 5. (required) McKibbin, Warwick J., and Peter J. Wilcoxen (2002), The Role of Economics in Climate Change Policy, Journal of Economic Perspectives 16(2), Focus on the section Designing a Practical Climate Policy, pp (required) Packard, Kimberly O Neill and Forest Reinhardt, What Every Executive Needs to Know About Global Warming, Harvard Business Review, July August Follow-up reading: 6

7 (a) (optional) Pollution Credits Let Dumps Double Dip: Landfills Find New Revenue in Trading System Meant to Curb Greenhouse Emissions, Wall Street Journal, October 20, (b) (optional) A Balancing Act on Emissions, New York Times, September 2, (optional) Nordhaus, William D. (1993), Reflections on the Economics of Climate Change, Journal of Economic Perspectives 7(4), (optional) Schelling, Thomas C. (1997), The Costs of Combatting Global Warming: Facing the Tradeoffs, Foreign Affairs 76(6), (optional) Green Goal of Carbon Neutrality Hits Limit, Wall Street Journal, December 30, (optional) Pipe Dreams and Politics: Money and Lobbyists Hurt European Efforts to Curb Gases, New York Times, December 11, Class #12 Presentations 7

8 1 E-Reserves 1.1 Introduction Fullerton, Don, and Robert N. Stavins (1998), How Economists See the Environment, Nature 395, Kelman, Steven (1981), Cost-Benefit Analysis: An Ethical Critique, including replies, AEI Journal on Government and Society Regulation January/February, 1981, Coase Theorem Grafton, R. Quentin (1996), Individual Transferable Quotas: Theory and Practice, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 6, (Available at At Plant in Coal Ash Spill, Toxic Deposits by the Ton, New York Times, December 30, Regulatory Instruments Hahn, Robert W. (2000), The Impact of Economics on Environmental Policy, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 39, Keohane, Nathaniel O., Richard L. Revesz, and Robert N. Stavins (1998), The Choice of Regulatory Instruments in Environmental Policy, Harvard Environmental Law Review 22, (especially Section IV) McKibbin, Warwick J., and Peter J. Wilcoxen (2002), The Role of Economics in Climate Change Policy, Journal of Economic Perspectives 16(2), Focus on the section Designing a Practical Climate Policy, pp Weitzman, Martin L. (1974), Prices vs. Quantities, Review of Economic Studies 41(4),

9 Newell, Richard G., and William A. Pizer (2003), Regulating Stock Externalities Under Uncertainty, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 45, In Turnaround, Industries Seek U.S. Regulations, New York Times, September 16, Businesses In Bay Area May Pay Fee for Emissions, New York Times, April 17, Congress Nears Ban on Diverting Water from Great Lakes Basin, New York Times, September 23, Porter Hypothesis Jaffe, Adam B., Steven R. Peterson, Paul R. Portney, and Robert N. Stavins (1995), Environmental Regulation and the Competitiveness of U.S. Manufacturing: What Does the Evidence Tell Us? Journal of Economic Literature 33, Porter, Michael E., and Claas van der Linde (1995), Toward a New Conception of the Environmental-Competitiveness Issue, Journal of Economic Perspectives 9(4), Palmer, Karen, Wallace E. Oates, and Paul R. Portney (1995), Tightening Environmental Standards: The Benefit-Cost or the No-Cost Paradigm? Journal of Economic Perspectives 9(4), Reinhardt, Forest (1999), Bringing the Environment Down to Earth, Harvard Business Review July August, Obscure Fee Pays for Efficient-Energy Projects, New York Times, December 29, Emissions Permit Trading Tietenberg, Tom H. (1990), Economic Instruments for Environmental Regulation, Oxford Review of Economic Policy 6(1),

10 Stavins, Robert N. (1998), What Can We Learn from the Grand Policy Experiment? Lessons from SO 2 Allowance Trading, Journal of Economic Perspectives 12(3), Sandel, Michael J. (1997), It s Immoral to Buy the Right to Pollute, New York Times, December 15, 1997, p.a29. Paying to Pollute: Everything You Wanted to Know About Cap and Trade... But Didn t Even Know to Ask, Wall Street Journal, September 15, Europe Tells Airlines to Pay for Emissions, New York Times, June 27, States Aim to Cut Gases By Making Polluters Pay, New York Times, September 16, First Auction of Pollution Rights, New York Times, September 26, Wyoming s Bonanza: Plentiful Clean Coal, New York Times, December 28, Global Warming Bansal, Ravi, and Marcelo Ochoa. Temperature, Growth, and Asset Prices, Working paper, Fuqua School of Business, December 23, 2009 Chapter 5 of Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Super Freakonomics, William Morrow, 2009, ISBN Kevin Bullis, The Geoengineering Gambit, Technology Review, January/February Nordhaus, William D. (1993), Reflections on the Economics of Climate Change, Journal of Economic Perspectives 7(4), Schelling, Thomas C. (1997), The Costs of Combatting Global Warming: Facing the Tradeoffs, Foreign Affairs 76(6), McKibbin, Warwick J., and Peter J. Wilcoxen (2002), The Role of Economics in Climate Change Policy, Journal of Economic Perspectives 16(2),

11 Packard, Kimberly O Neill and Forest Reinhardt, What Every Executive Needs to Know About Global Warming, Harvard Business Review, July August Six Products, Six Carbon Footprints, Wall Street Journal, October 6, A Big Sum of Small Differences, Wall Street Journal, October 2, A New Dawn: The Benefits of Climate-Change Policies Are Limited And Costly. Instead the President-Elect Needs to Coolly Evaluate Competing Priorities, Says Bjørn Lomborg, Wall Street Journal, November 8 9, Green Goal of Carbon Neutrality Hits Limit, Wall Street Journal, December 30, Pipe Dreams and Politics: Money and Lobbyists Hurt European Efforts to Curb Gases, New York Times, December 11, Pollution Credits Let Dumps Double Dip: Landfills Find New Revenue in Trading System Meant to Curb Greenhouse Emissions, Wall Street Journal, October 20, A Balancing Act on Emissions, New York Times, September 2, Measurement Harrison, David Jr., and Daniel L. Rubinfeld (1978), Hedonic Housing Prices and the Demand for Clean Air, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 5(1), Viscusi, W. Kip (2000), The Value of Life in Legal Contexts: Survey and Critique, American Law and Economic Review 2(1), Bockstael, Nancy E., W. Michael Hanemann, and Catherine L. Kling (1987), Estimating the Value of Water Quality Improvements in a Recreational Demand Framework, Water Resources Research 23(5),

12 1.8 Famous but Tedious Papers Hardin, Garrett (1968), The Tragedy of the Commons, Science 162, Coase, Ronald (1960), The Problem of Social Cost, Journal of Law and Economics October