CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA Course Title: Seminar in Air Resource Economics EC 436 Date of Preparation: May 2009 Prepared by: Anne Bresnock COURSE OUTLINE I. Catalog Description EC 436 Seminar in Air Resource Economics (4) Intensive study of air pollution, statute control of air pollution, economic ramifications of control and non-control on quality of life, income, employment, and growth; study tradeoffs involved with control. 4 seminars. Prerequisites: EC 201 or EC 202. II. Required Background or Experience EC 201 or EC 202. III. Expected Outcomes Students in EC 436 will: a) define and describe the types of air pollution problems for the Southern California region, the U.S. and earth, b) identify and summarize existing air pollution control measures, policies, and technologies for improving air quality, c) apply basic microeconomic theory and legal statutes toward resolving air pollution problems, d) summarize the economic impacts of air pollution on society, and e) compare and contrast command-and-control air pollution controls with alternative, proposed solutions to air quality management. IV. Text and Readings Readings: Adger, W. N., D. Pettenella and M. Whitby, Eds. Climate Change Mitigation and European Land Use Policy (London: Oxford University Press, 1998).
Seminar in Air Resource Economics EC 436 Page 2 Anderson, D. A. Environmental Economics and Natural Resource Management, 3rd Ed. (New York, NY: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2010). Athanasiou, T. Divided Planet: The Ecology of Rich and Poor (New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 1996). Benedick, R. E. Ozone Diplomacy: New Directions in Safeguarding the Planet (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998). Bluffstone, R. and B. Larson Controlling Pollution in Transition Economies (North Hampton, MA: Elgar Publishing, 1997). Boubel, R. W., D. L. Fox, D. B. Turner and A.C. Stern Fundamentals of Air Pollution, 3rd Edition (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1994). Committee for Economic Development What Price Clean Air? A Market Approach to Energy and Environmental Policy (New York, NY: Committee for Economic Development, 1993). DeBardeleben, J. And to Breath Free (Washington, D.C.: John Hopkins University Press, 1991). Dobbins, R. A. Atmospheric Motion and Air Pollution (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1979). Elsom, D. Smog Alert: Managing Urban Air Quality (London: Earthscan Publishers Ltd., 1996). Erbes, R. E. A Practical Guide to Air Quality Compliance, 2nd Ed. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1996). Field, B.C. and M. K. Field Environmental Economics, 5th Ed. (San Francisco, CA: McGraw-Hill, 2009). Flavin, C. State of the World 2009: Into A Warming World (Washington, D.C. Worldwatch Institute, 2009). Friedman, T. L. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need A Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America (New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008). Goodstein, E. S. Economics and the Environment, 5th Ed. (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2008).
Seminar in Air Resource Economics EC 436 Page 3 Griffin, R. D. Principles of Air Quality Management (Ann Arbor, MI: CRC Press, 1994). Hackett, S.C. Environmental and Natural Resources Economics: Theory, Policy and the Sustainable Society, 3rd Ed. (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006). Labatt, S. and R. R. White Carbon Finance: The Financial Implications of Climate Change (New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2007). Lovelock, J. The Revenge of Gaia: Earth s Climate Crisis and the Fate of Humanity (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2006). Lynas, M. High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis (New York, NY: Picador, 2004). Klassen, G. Acid Rain and Environmental Degradation (North Hampton, MA: Elgar Publishing, 1996). Kneese, A. V. Measuring the Benefits of Clean Air and Water (Washington, D.C. Resources for the Future, 1984). Makhijani, A. and K. Gurney Mending the Ozone Hole (Cambridge MA: MIT Pres, 1995) Nordhaus, W. D. Managing the Global Commons (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994). Rao, P. K. The Economics of Global Climate Change (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2000). Simons, I. G. Earth, Air, and Water (London: Routledge, Chapman, and Hall, 1991). Speth, J. G. Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment (New Haven, CN: Yale University Press, 2004). Stern, N. The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007). Sterner, T. Policy Instruments for Environmental and Natural Resource Management (Washington, D. C.: Resources for the Future, 2003). Tietenberg, T. H. Emissions Trading: Principles and Practice, 2nd Ed. (Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future, 2006). Seminar in Air Resource Economics
EC 436 Page 4 Toman, M. A., Ed. Climate Change: Economics and Policy An RFF Anthology (Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future, 2001). Tietenberg, T. Environmental Economics and Policy, 5th Ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007). Tietenberg, T. Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, 7th Ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006). Turco, R. P. Earth Under Seige: From Air Pollution to Global Change, 2nd Ed. (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2002). Weart, S. R. The Discovery of Global Warming (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003). References: American Economics Review Economic Development and Cultural Change Economica Journal of Environmental Economics and Management Journal of Law and Economics Journal of Political Economy Natural Resources Journal Oxford Economic Papers Quarterly Journal of Economics V. Minimum Student Materials Textbooks, notebooks, and access to library research materials and personal computers. VI. Minimum College Facilities Classroom suitable for seminar discussions and presentations equipped with audio-visual and computer access, ie. "smart" classroom. VII. Course Outline A. Nature of Air Pollution Problems 1. Types of Air Pollutants Seminar in Air Resource Economics
EC 436 Page 5 2. Regional Problems 3. National Problems 4. International Problems B. Present Means of Control 1. Statute Law 2. Zoning 3. Economic Implications of Current Control 4. International Controls C. Economic and Statute Solutions 1. Market Solutions 2. Market and Statute Solutions Combined 3. Other World Economic Solutions D. Economic Implications of Solutions 1. Impact on Quality of Life 2. Impact on Income 3. Impact on Employment 4. Impact on Growth 5. Tradeoffs Associated with Control E. Summary 1. Discussion of Relationship of Tradeoffs to Air Quality 2. International Economic Implications Seminar in Air Resource Economics
EC 436 Page 6 VIII. Instructional Methods There are four methods of instruction: a) discussion of assigned readings, b) presentation of lecture, audio-visual, and written material by the professor, c) demonstration of how to prepare a written report concerning an air resource economics topic to guide students in writing their term papers, and d) student development of answers to air resource economics policy issues on two take-home examinations. IX. Evaluation of Outcomes There are three methods of evaluation. Students will: a) complete two take-home written examinations concerning the development of air resource policy issues to be no more than 10 pages in length, b) write a term paper about a problem in air resource economics to be no more than 15 pages in length, and c) contribute to seminar discussions.