ARE 261

ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS

Fall Semester, 2008
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics   
University of California at Berkeley


Course Requirements

A paper describing a researchable topic in environmental and resource economics is due during the last week of classes. The paper will count 30 percent of the final grade.

A 20-minute (no longer) presentation of a paper that is, or should be, on the reading list but one that will not be covered in depth in lecture will be 20 percent of the final grade.

Three problem sets will be 10 percent of the final grade.
A final exam will be given at the end of the semester.  The exam will count 40 percent of the final grade.


Instructors

Peter Berck:  224 Giannini Hall (510/642-7238; pberck@berkeley.edu); office hours:  Friday, 11:00 a.m.

Anthony Fisher:  232 Giannini Hall (510/642-7555; fisher@are); office hours: Tuesday, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., or by appointment.
 
Christian Traeger:  322 Giannini Hall (510/642-9781; traeger@are); office hours:  Thursday, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., or by appointment.


List of Topics
  1. Roots of Resource Economics (F)
  2. Exhaustible Resources: Some Theoretical Issues (F)
  3. Exhaustible Resources: Empirical Evidence and Quantitative Modeling (F)
  4. Uncertainty, Learning and Option Value (T)
  5. Resources in the Long Run: Growth and Sustainability (F)
  6. Climate Change: An Introduction (T)
  7. Climate Change and the Long Run: Discounting (T)
  8. Climate Change: Impact Assessment (F)
  9. Climate Change: Bargaining and International Cooperation (T)
  10. Classical Environmental Economics (B)
  11. Economywide Effects of Regulation, Double Dividend (B)
  12. Environmental Regulation under Uncertainty (B)
  13. Economics of Monitoring 2/26 (B)
  14. Other Topics in Pollution Control (B)
  15. Conservation of Species and Extinction (B)


Syllabus and Reading List

Syllabus

Reading List Sections 1-9   (pdf)

Reading List Sections 10-15