Download syllabus for your happy and more Summaries Economics in PDF only on Docsity!
Environmental and Natural Resource Policy
Economics 467
Department of Economics, University of Alberta
Instructor: Dana Andersen Time and Location: ONLINE Contact: email: dca@ualberta.ca Office Hours: email or zoom appointment only
Overview and Objectives
This course provides examples of environmental and resource problems, such as pollution externalities and common-pool resources, and examines public policies to mitigate these problems. Topics will include market failures, policy instruments in various contexts, cost- benefit analysis, climate-change economics, and international environmental agreements.
Lectures
The lectures will be asynchronous. Weekly recordings will be provided electronically through eClass.
Prerequisites
MATH 113 or SCI 100, or ECON 281. Not open to students with credit in ECON 466 or ENCS 473. Instructor may consent to allow alternative prerequisites or co-requisites. Unless given permission from the instructor, course prerequisites will be enforced and registration cancelled if the prerequisites are not met.
Evaluation
Viewing all of the recorded lectures and completing the readings are essential for performing well in the exams. Students are responsible for all material covered in the lectures, as well as required readings. The relative importance of the various graded components of the course are as follows:
Mid-term exam (October 19, 9-11 AM) 35% Term Paper (Due December 12) 30% Final exam (Dec 7, 9-11 AM) 35%
*Note that the dates are tentative and subject to change.
Term Paper
The term paper should be between 12 and 15 pages (double-spaced, 12 point font, excluding references). Students will choose one of the following two options:
- Analyze an existing environmental or natural resource policy. The paper should include the following elements: - Review the relevant theoretical and empirical literature - Discuss the existing policy or regulation - Discuss the economic efficiency of the policy, including potential unintended ef- fects (such as rebound effects, leakage, etc.) - Description of potential policy improvements or alternative policies
- A policy proposal addressing an unabated environmental or resource management prob- lem. The paper should include the following elements: - Review the relevant theoretical and empirical literature - Describe the environmental or resource management problem - Propose a specific policy or set of policies to address the problem - Discuss the economic efficiency of the policy and issues that might arise in its im- plementation, such as enforcement, informational requirements, or jurisdictional issues
Possible sources of topics include the newspaper or internet news (for example, www.cbc.ca), your readings, policy think-tanks such as Resources for the Future (www.rff.org), and gov- ernment websites such as Environment Canada (www.ec.gc.ca) and the United States Envi- ronmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov). The paper proposal should be clearly and concisely written, and must be thoroughly edited: spelling and grammar errors are not acceptable. Additional resources are available to students who desire help to improve their writing. The Centre for Writers offers free tutoring to undergraduate and graduate students regarding writing assignments.^1 Students are required to practice proper citation of published and unpublished sources. The term paper should include citations in the text as well as a full list of references (bibli- ography) following the conclusion of the paper. Students should be aware what constitutes plagiarism, and all papers are subject to verification of originality. Internet searches will be performed on selected passages or phrases from each term paper. References on plagiarism, proper paraphrasing, and proper citation are available on the University Library website.^2 If evidence is found that the work submitted is not the work of the student, formal University procedures for plagiarism will be initiated. The University Guidelines regarding cheating and plagiarism are included at the end of this syllabus.
(^1) http://www.c4w.arts.ualberta.ca/ (^2) http://guides.library.ualberta.ca/academicintegrity/
at http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/enCodesofConductandResidenceCommunityStandar ds/CodeofStudentBehaviour.aspx) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in the suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.”
Students with special needs (University Calendar §25.2):
Students with disabilities or special needs that might interfere with their performance should contact the professor at the beginning of the course with the appropriate documentation. Every effort will be made to accommodate such students, but in all cases prior arrangements must be made to ensure that any special needs can be met in a timely fashion and in such a way that the rest of the class is not put at an unfair disadvantage. Exam arrangements: SSDS (Specialized Support and Disability Services) and the student, with the approval of the course instructor, determine exam accommodations. Assessments and/or documentation of the need for accommodation are required. At the beginning of each term, the student meets with instructors to review the exam arrangements which will be used. They provide a Letter of Introduction from SSDS verifying the nature of the accommodations required due to the disability. A few weeks before each exam, the student completes an Exam Schedule form, for SSDS, outlining scheduled exam dates, times, etc. At least one week before the exam the student then takes an Exam Instructions and Authorization form to the instructor. The instructor is asked to complete the form and enclose it with the exam and arrange to have it delivered or mailed to SSDS. In administering exams, SSDS follows university protocol and only makes accommodations as required due to the disability. Exams are usually set to overlap with the time the professor has set the in-class exams.
