PUBPOL 5970 - Economics and Environmental Policy

(CU-SBY)

Fall. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Forbidden Overlap: due to an overlap in content, students will receive credit for only one course in the following group: AEM 4510, ECON 3850, ECON 3865, PUBPOL 3670, PUBPOL 5970.
Prerequisite: coursework in introductory microeconomics. Recommended prerequisite: coursework in introductory statistics. Enrollment limited to: graduate students. Co-meets with ECON 3850/PUBPOL 3670.

N. Sanders.

This class will focus on the use of economics as a tool in forming and evaluating environmental policy, with a focus on how economists measure the health and economic effects of pollution and environmental regulation in the United States. Topics include: externalities in an environmental context; regulation methods such as command and control, Pigouvian taxation, and cap and trade; overview of current environmental legislation; environmental quality and health; regulation and environmental justice.

Outcome 1: Students will be able to explain the reasons for market failure in the presence of externalities in an environmental context.

Outcome 2: Students will identify common methods of government intervention in environmental regulation, and explain relative strengths and weaknesses in the context of both social efficient and equity.

Outcome 3: Students will discuss and evaluate methods used to measure the health and economic effects of environmental quality and various environmental policies.

Outcome 4: Students will address the common tradeoffs between equity and efficiency in environmental policy, including environmental justice.