ECONOMICS 1370
ECONOMICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Semester: Spring 2012
Instructor: George Berger
Office: 120 Biddle
Phone: 269-2982/2990 or 2991
Office Hours: MWF 2-3, TH 2:00-3:30 or by appointment
I. TEXTs:
George Berger, Supplementary
Readings, Part 1 and Part 2, Spring 2012.
II. ORGANIZATION OF
COURSE
A. Introduction: Basic Economic Principles
1. Basic Concepts
2. Institutional Framework: Property
Rights Analysis
SUPPLEMENTARY
a.
b. Robert J. Smith, "
c. Michael De Alessi,
“Wildlife Enrichment and Oil Exploration: A 2-for-1 Deal at the Welder Wildlife
Refuge,” Tech Central Station, May 15, 2001, 3 pps.
d.
Dwight Lee, “To Drill or Not
to Drill,” The Independent Review, 6:2, Fall 2001, pp. 217-25.
e.
Terry L. Anderson and Donald
R, Leal, “Energy and Ecology: Prospecting for Harmony,” excerpt from Free
Market Environmentalism, Revised Edition, Palgrave, 2001, pp. 81-86.
3. Economics of Externalities
SUPPLEMENTARY
a.
Roger Meiners and Bruce Yandle,
"The Common Law: How It Protects the Environment" PERC Policy
Series #13, pp. 1-20.
b. Robert W. Crandall, "Clean Air and
Regional Protectionism," The Brookings Review, Fall 1983, pp.
17-20.
c. Richard Stroup and
Jane Shaw, "Environmental Harms from Federal Government Policy," in
Roger Meiners and Bruce Yandle,
eds., Taking the Environment Seriously, Rowman
and Littlefield Publishers, 1993, pp. 51-70.
d. Peter J. Hill, "Environmental Problems
under Socialism," Cato Journal, 12:2, Fall 1992, pp. 321-33.
e. Institute for Energy
Research, “Carbon Taxes: Reducing Economic Growth-Achieving No Environmental
Improvement” March 11, 2009, pp. 1-6
f. Kenneth Green, Steven Hayward and Kevin Hassett, “Climate Change: Caps versus Taxes,” Energy and
Environment Outlook No. 2, June 2007, pp. 1-6
g. Kenneth Green, “Climate Policy: What’s
Best—Emission Reduction or Adaptation and Sequestration,” AEI Environmental
Policy Outlook No. 4, October 2006, 5 pp.
h. EXTRA CREDIT: Kenneth
P. Green and Steven F. Hayward, “The Dangers of Overreacting to the Deepwater
Horizon Disaster,” AEI Energy and Environment Outlook Series/No. 1, June
2010, 10pp.
i. EXTRA CREDIT: Bruce
Benson, “Unnatural Bounty,” PERC Policy Series No. 37, November 2006, 17 pp.
4. Natural Resources: An Overview
SUPPLEMENTARY
a.
Ronald Bailey, "The Progress Explosion: Permanently Escaping
the Malthusian Trap," Earth Report 2000, edited by Ronald Bailey,
Competitive Enterprise Institute, pp. 3-21
b.
David Osterfeld, "Chapter 4:
Resources," Prosperity versus Planning: How Government Stifles
Economic Growth,
c. Daniel K Benjamin, “Eight Great Myths of Recycling,” PERC Policy
Series # 28, September 2003, pp. 10-26
EXAM 1
B. Topics
1. Oil and Renewable Energy
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS (44)
a. Morris Adelman, “The Real Oil Problem,” Regulation
, Spring 2004, pp. 16-21.
b. Robert Murphy, “Oil Prices,” Concise
Encyclopedia of Economics, 11 pp.
c. Max Schulz, “The Quiet Energy Revolution,” The
American.com, February 4, 2010, 6 pp.
d. Vaclav Smil. “
e. Sallie Baliunas, “Solar Delusions,” May 21, 2002; “Let the
Sunshine In,” June 11, 2002; “Gone with the Wind,” September 25, 2002; “Wind
Magic,” October 17, 2002, TCS Daily, 15 pp.
2. Fisheries and Commercially Valuable Species
SUPPLEMENTARY
a. Donald Leal, “Saving
Fisheries with Free Markets,” The Milken Insitute
Review, First Quarter 2006, pp. 57-66.
b. Howard Baejter,
"Conservation
c. Richard Stroup, "The Endangered Species Act: Making Innocent Species
the Enemy," PERC Policy Study #3, April 1995, pp. 1-22.
3. Hazardous Waste
SUPPLEMENTARY
a. Eric Zuesse, "
b. Richard Stroup,
"Superfund versus Environmental Progress: Explaining a Disaster"
Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation, Studies in Social Cost,
Regulation, and the Environment, No. 7, 2001, 17 pp.
c. EXTRA CREDIT:
Aaron Wildavsky, "
C. Overview
1. Sustainable Development
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS (55)
a.
Jerry Taylor,
"Sustainable Development: A Dubious Solution In Search of a Problem,"
Policy Analysis No. 449, August 26, 2002, pp. 1-21.
b. Richard Stroup, " Political Control
versus Sustainable Development," PERC Resource Book on Pollution,
Trade, and Aid, August 1992, pp. 31-39.
c. Students whose last
name start with A through Ma should read the two articles in option (1) while
students whose last names start with Mu through Z should read the article in
option (2)
(1)
Bruce Yandle, “Environmental Turning Points,
Institutions and the Race to the Top,” The Independent Review, 9:2 (Fall
2004), pp. 211-26 and Kenneth Green, “Climate Change: The Resilience Option,” Energy
and Environment Outlook, No. 4, October 2009, 9 pp.
(2) Robert G McCormick, “The Relation Between
Net Carbon Emissions and Income,” in You Have to Admit It’s Getting Better,
edited by Terry Anderson, Hoover Institution Press, 2004, pp. 173-98.
EXAM 2
III. COURSE POLICIES
1. The total number of
points in the course will be distributed as follows:
Exam 1 100
Exam 2 100
Quizzes 100
Total 300
While I cannot specify
what number of points equals an A, what number of points equals a B, etc., I will indicate these grades as the semester progresses.
2. Your grade can be
calculated as follows: (1) Assume you earned a 73 on the first exam. Assume
that all scores that fall into the range 70-79 are Cs and all scores that fall
into the range 80-89 are Bs. (2) Assume you earned an 83 on the second exam. Assume
that all scores that fall into the range 80-89 are Bs. Your total number of
points earned after the second exam add to 156. What is your letter grade? Add
together the minimum scores for a B which in this case is 160 points. Since
your point total is less than the minimum score to earn a B, you have a C+ in
the course after the second exam. (NOTE: The ranges used in this example are
not necessarily the ranges that I will use during the course of the semester.)
3. The Homework Problem
Set is available to students on my website. Answers to the Homework Problem Set
are also posted
on my website. PLEASE NOTE THAT EXAM QUESTIONS WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM THE
HOMEWORK PROBLEMS; but if you have worked on the latter, you should be able to
answer the former.
4. Exams are NOT
cumulative but cover only the material after the previous exam.
5. All exams will be a
combination of definitions and essay questions. A typical test will include 10
definitions (30 points) and approximately 3 essay questions usually with two or
three parts (75 points). These exams will draw on material selected from the
definition sheets, assigned homework exercises, and supplementary readings.
Extra credit questions will be included on all exams. This is the only place
extra credit can be done.
6. Exams will be given
in two stages. In the first stage, students must match the appropriate word to
the correct definition. This must be done BY MEMORY (no notecards
allowed). In the second stage, students may consult an unlimited number of notecards to complete the essay section of the exam. NOTE:
THESE NOTECARDS MUST BE HANDWRITTEN. XEROXED OR TYPED NOTECARDS OR
NOTECARDS WITH XEROXED OR TYPED MATERIAL PASTED ON THEM ARE UNACCEPTABLE.
I WILL REQUIRE ALL STUDENTS TO TURN IN THEIR NOTECARDS TO ME AFTER THE EXAM.
THAT MEANS YOUR NAME MUST APPEAR ON EACH NOTECARD YOU USE. IF
I DISCOVER THAT SOMEONE HAS USED XEROXED OR TYPED NOTECARDS THAT PERSON WILL
RECEIVE A ZERO ON THE EXAM.
7. Exam 1 will have very
tight time constraints so you must be prepared to deal with them. This means
writing short summaries of the supplementary reading articles and homework
questions; these summaries should answer all of the questions asked on the
appropriate question sheets and summarize key ideas in solving particular homework
problems.
8. Exam dates will be:
Exam 1 – Feb 24
(approximately)
Exam 2 – Friday, April 29 @ 12:30PM
Exam 2 must be taken on
the assigned day. Exceptions will be allowed only if students provide evidence
of one other exams on the scheduled date.
9. Make-up exam policy.
a. In the event of a
prolonged absence (more than a single class or single day), students must
immediately contact the Office of the Assistant to the Vice President of
Academic Affairs, Blackington 248, (814-269-2078) to
be excused from classes. All other absences on the test date must be
accompanied by a doctor’s excuse. Students who do either of these things will
be able to take a make-up exam if the excused absence occurs on an exam date.
b. If the student does
neither of these things the instructor will allow the student to take a make-up
exam score minus a penalty to be determined by the instructor.
10. Final grades will be
assigned using +'s and -'s where appropriate.
11. Class attendance is
mandatory. Students may miss THREE classes
without penalty. HOWEVER, EVERY CLASS
MISSED AFTER THOSE
WILL BE PENALIZED THREE (3) POINTS FOR EACH CLASS MISSED.
12. I want to emphasize two particular points of
class etiquette that are important to me.
a.
I CONSIDER TEXTING IN CLASS RUDE AND
DISTRACTING. THEREFORE IF I EVEN SEE A CELL PHONE DURING CLASS I WILL TAKE THAT
PERSON’S CELL PHONE AND PUT IT ON THE PODIUM ( IT MAY BE RECLAIMED AFTER CLASS). FOR EVERY CLASS AFTER THIS OCCURS, THIS
PERSON MUST PUT HIS/HER CELL PHONE ON THE PODIUM BEFORE CLASS BEGINS. IF THIS
PARTICULAR PERSON IS LATE, HE/SHE MUST PUT THEIR CELL PHONE ON THE PODIUM
BEFORE TAKING A SEAT IN THE BACK OF THE CLASS.
b.
IN THE PAST STUDENTS IN MY CLASS HAVE
OFTEN LEFT DURING CLASS (TO GO TO THE BATHROOM, TO TAKE A PHONE CALL, WHATEVER)
AND HAVE RETURNED SHORTLY THEREAFTER. I
ALSO CONSIDER THIS RUDE AND DISTRACTING. SO THIS BEHAVIOR MUST STOP. IF ANYONE
LEAVES IN THE MIDDLE OF CLASS: (i) I WILL MARK YOU
ABSENT AND (ii) ASK THAT YOU NOT COME BACK FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE CLASS. IF YOU ARE ILL BY ALL MEANS LEAVE CLASS IF YOU NEED TO.
13. Anyone caught
cheating on any exam will get a zero on that exam. This will make
passing the course very difficult. Additionally, anyone copying another
person's written work and submitting it as his own will receive a zero.
(NOTE: The person from whom it was copied will also receive a zero.)
14. FYI: DEADLINE
FOR DROPPING THE CLASS WITH A W ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT IS MARCH 2.
15. READING SCHEDULE
Week 02: Jan 10-12-Reed;
Smith; De Alessi
Week 03: Jan 17-19-Lee;
Anderson and Leal
Week 04: Jan 24-26-Meiners
and Yandle; Crandall
Week 05: Jan 31-Feb
02-Stroup and Shaw; Hill
Week 06: Feb 07-09-Institute
for Energy Research; Green,
Week 07: Feb 14-16-Green;
Bailey; Osterfeld
Week 08: Feb 21-23-Benjamin
Week 09: Feb 28-Mar
01-Adelman; Deming
Week 10: Mar 13-15-Murphy;
Schulz; Smil
Week 11: Mar 20-22-Baliunas;
Leal
Week 12: Mar 27-29-Baetjer;
Stroup
Week 13: Apr 03-05-Zuesse;
Stroup
Week 14: Apr 10-12-Taylor ; Stroup
Week 15: Apr 17-19-Yandle;
Green/McCormick
16. QUIZ SCHEDULE: There will be 12 quizzes given on Thursday on
the following dates covering the material listed in the syllabus by author. You
may drop two of the 12 quizzes.
Week 03: Jan 19-Reed; Smith; De Alessi; Lee
Week 04: Jan 26- Anderson and Leal; Meiners and Yandle; Crandall
Week 05: Feb 02-Stroup
and Shaw; Hill
Week 06: Feb 09-Institute
for Energy Research; Green, Hayward and
Hassett
Week 07: Feb 16-Green,
Bailey, and Osterfeld
Week 08: Feb 23-Exam
Week 09: Mar 01-Adelman;
Deming
Week 10: Mar 15- Murphy;
Schulz; Smil
Week 11: Mar 22-Baliunas;
Leal
Week 12: Mar 29-Baetjer;
Stroup
Week 13: Apr 05-Zuesse;
Stroup
Week 14: Apr 12-Taylor;
Stroup
Week 15: Apr 19-Yandle;
Green/McCormick
17. If you have a disability for which you are or may be
requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor
and the Office of Health & Wellness (OHW), G-10 Student Union Building,
(814) 269-7119 to schedule an appointment as early as possible in the term. OHW
will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this
course.