Fall 2024 - ECON 260 D100
Environmental Economics (3)
Class Number: 2766
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 4 – Dec 3, 2024: Fri, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Burnaby -
Exam Times + Location:
Dec 7, 2024
Sat, 7:00–10:00 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
John Gilraine
jgilrain@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
ECON 103 with a minimum grade of C- or ECON 113 with a minimum grade of A-.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Economic analysis of environmental problems (water and air pollution, etc.). Evaluation of market failures due to externalities and public goods. Market and non-market regulation of environmental problems. Students with credit for ECON 360 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course serves as an introduction to environmental economics for undergraduate students. It will cover
both theory and empirics. On the theory side, the course covers the incentives that cause environmental
degradation and how we might alter those incentives to improve the environment cost effectively. Theory
will therefore help us understand the choice of environmental policies in use today, such as carbon taxes
and cap-and-trade. Empirics will then focus on estimating the costs of pollution. We will do so using real
examples and data, with methodological descriptions being intuitive rather than mathematical. The goal of
the course is to expose students to the basic theoretical models used by environmental economists to design
policy and acquaint students with the empirical side of environmental economics where researchers attempt
to quantify the costs of pollution.
Approximate Schedule (Please note that the schedule and topics may change)
Week Dates Topic
1 Sep 6 Introduction (No tutorial this week)
2 Sep 13 Marginal Benefits
3 Sep 20 Marginal Costs
4 Sep 27 Discounting
5 Oct 4 Net Present Value
6 Oct 11 Empirics and R lecture
7 Oct 18 Midterm Review (No tutorial this week)
8 Oct 25 Midterm
9 Nov 1 Statistical Value of Life
10 Nov 8 Pigouvian Taxes
11 Nov 15 Cap and Trade
12 Nov 22 Coase Theorem
13 Nov 29 Final Review
Dec 5-17 Final Exam (TBD)
Grading
- Problem Sets (only 3 highest count) 15%
- Statistical assignment 15%
- Midterm Test 30%
- Final Exam 40%
Materials
RECOMMENDED READING:
Recommended (Not Required) Textbook:
- Environmental Economics by Field & Field (any edition). Note that the textbook is only recommended:you should be able to follow the course without it but it may be a useful guide. The course will therefore rely heavily on the materials given in lecture.
- An Introduction to R. (Free) https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-intro.pdf
- Using R for Introductory Econometrics. http://urfie.net/
- Required: R (https://cran.r-project.org/) and R Studio (https://www.rstudio.com/) (both are free)
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Department Undergraduate Notes:
Please note that, as per Policy T20.01, the course requirements (and grading scheme) outlined here are subject to change up until the end of the first week of classes.
Final exam schedules will be released during the second month of classes. If your course has a final exam, please ensure that you are available during the entire final exam period until you receive confirmation of your exam dates.
Students requiring accommodations as a result of a disability must contact the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) at 778-782-3112 or caladmin@sfu.ca.***NO TUTORIALS DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES***
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.