Econ 372 Syllabus

Environmental Economics

Fall 2013

Professor Kevin Klein

Office: 238 Kirby

Office Phone: 245-3474 Physical Office Hours: 9 - 9:50 MTThF , Virtual Office Hours: 24-hours a day at kklein@mail.ic.edu

E-mail: kklein@ic.edu and also by appointment

Text messaging and home phone number: 217-673-5241. Note: Text messages received after 9:00 p.m. will be returned the next day. Telephone calls received after 9:00 p.m. will be returned the next morning between 5 and 6 a.m.

Web Page: http://www2.ic.edu/klein

Classroom:

Required Text

The primary text for this course will be Environmental Economics and Management, 6^th Edition, Southwestern Publishing, Scott J. Callan and Janet M. Thomas. ISBN: 978-1-111-82667-3.There will also be supplemental readings that you will acquire via the internet on these International Environmental Agreements.

• Internet Web Sources for Japanese Environmental Issues
• United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) – The Rio Summit
• Millennium Development Goals
• UN Sustainable Development
• The Montreal Protocol
• The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• The Kyoto Protocol
• The London Dumping Convention
• The U.S. – Canada Air Quality Agreement

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the economic analysis of environmental economics and its application to International Environmental Policy. In this course we explore the role of humans in the efficient use of the environment. We begin by exploring why, in many cases, an unregulated use of environmental resources results in an inefficient usage of the resources. This discussion is followed by exploring how environmental laws can be developed which allows for a sensible approach to resource usage culminating with a rich discussion on existing international environmental agreements. The exposition in the course will be primarily verbal and graphical. We will sometimes use the concept of mathematical functions to conveniently express certain relations. Thus, you are expected to have an adequate command of the use of algebra.

Course Objectives

The objectives of this course are stated below. This course will provide students with basic concepts. But economic theory is more than a set of concepts that the student must memorize.This course will equip you to analyze economic problems in a variety of contexts. This ability to apply economic reasoning is the most important objective of this course. When you go to work after graduation you can apply this knowledge gained through achieving these objectives to help analyze how certain actions in the economy, both private and governmental, will affect you, the firm you work for, and the environment. By the semesters end, a student successfully completing this course will:

1. Understand the concept of opportunity cost and use it to analyze economic decision-making concerning environmental issues.

2. Use supply and demand analysis to demonstrate the microeconomic impacts of changes in market conditions and how this impacts the environment.

3. Explain how prices and output levels are determined in different market structures and how this impacts the environment.

4. Have a basic understanding of consumer behavior as modeled by economists and how this impacts the environment.

5. Have a basic understanding of business firms’ behavior under various market structures and how this behavior affects the environment.

6. Demonstrate how to tell when a firm or market is efficient and how this concepts can be used to help formulate government policy.

7. Demonstrate how policy makers can use microeconomic tools to achieve their goals of an efficient use of resources in an economy.

8. Gain a better understanding of international environmental agreements, their design, and their successful implementation.

9. Gain a better understanding of alternative energies, their uses, and their economic viability.

Evaluation and Grading

Your grade in this course will be based upon several components: Essay exams and a term paper. Successful papers may be proposed for presentation at a poster board session on honors day during the Spring 2013 semester. Last year, this occurred in May.

In addition to the paper there are: four non-cumulative short-answer/essay exams along with a comprehensive short-answer/essay final. Your grade will be based on the total number of points you receive during the semester.

400 – Count the four highest of the five exams

100 – One paper

90 - Field trip participation and reflection papers

590 – Total Points possible

Exams

Exams are take home exams for which you will have approximately one week to complete.

Term Paper

The term paper will be the culmination of a semester long research project that you will engage in. This semester your research project must center on environmental issues in Japan. The top three papers, as judged by Professors Klein, Devine, Nahlik, and Fu, will be invited to participate in an international symposium on Japanese environmental issues to be held at Illinois College in March 2014. You will receive a full transportation and lodging grant to Illinois College provided you currently reside on campus.

The Illinois College faculty passed a resolution during the spring 2007 semester requiring all faculty to adhere to a +/- grading system. It is up to each faculty member individually to determine how that system is applied to each of their courses. In this course, course grades will be determined based on the following percentages

A = 92%+

A- = 90-91.9%

B+ = 88 – 89.9%

B = 82 – 87.9%

B– = 80-81.9%

C+ = 78 – 79.9%

C = 72 – 77.9%

C- = 70-71.9%

D+ = 68 – 69.9%

D = 62 – 67.9%

D- = 60 – 61.9%

F = 0 – 59.9

The semester grade will be determined on the scale listed above. Thus, to earn a grade of ‘A’ in the class, you must earn at least 460 points during the semester. For a grade of ‘B’, 440 points must be earned, etc.

All exams are essay format and will be take-home exams. No makeup exams will be given. The term paper is due no later than 9:00 a.m. on the date stated on the assignment. Late assignments lose 10% of their value for each 24 hours they are late.

Cell Phone Usage

Cell phones are a modern convenience but not a necessity to life – especially in this class. Cell phone usage, or any form of text messaging, internet usage, etc., in the class is prohibited. If you are expecting an important phone call or text message, then choose to not attend class that day rather than accept the phone call or text message. Of course, there is an opportunity cost in all choices that you make. Either choose to be in class or choose to be elsewhere and willingly accept the costs of your decisions. Pop quizzes will be given immediately following the discovery of unauthorized cell phone usage in this class. The value of these quizzes will be added to the total available points during the semester.

Course Outline and Reading Assignments

Important Dates

Exam 1 and paper topic due 9/19/2013

The assignments for this class can be found on the on-line calendar.