- GY222 Applied Environmental Economics
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Course outline and Reading list
Instructions for MT formative essay
Class 2: Environmental taxes- Hand-out
- There are many good resources on this topic. Extensive background can be found in the IPCC's second assessment report, where chapter 11 is relevant, chapter 6 of the third assessment report, and chapter 13 of the fourth assessment report.
- Environmental taxes are of much interest to policy makers, and there are several good up-to-date reports. The OECD has recently published two summary reports on environmental taxes (here and here). The recent Mirrlees Review also has a few highly relevant chapters (chapters 5, 10, and 11). These are a lot more up-to-date with policy than anything else on the reading list.
Class 3: Emissions tradingFor the first question on this week's question sheet, it is again lecture notes and textbooks that are most important, as well as the article by Hepburn (2006). For the second question, the best thing to read is about the history and politics of tradable permits. The OECD (1997) and US EPA (2005) both contain some examples. For a better overview, please have a look at the following:
A good look at the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
A good summary news article. Easy reading.
You might not gain direct access to the articles via these links. If you can't access the articles directly, you can access both of them via the Library e-journal resource (click here). There you can search for the journals, and access them with your LSE username and password. Google scholar is also good.
The last question on the worksheet is really asking you to think critically about the material, and bring up additional issues. The IPCC chapters (linked above) is one good resource, but there are many other examples in your readings.
Finally, some notes I've written on the basics of taxes and permits that might be helpful.
Class 4: Coasean solutions to environmental problems"To what extent is the Coase Theorem relevant for domestic and international environmental problems?"
We will have a class discussion about this question, so it is important that you prepare the readings. Apart from the lecture notes and textbooks indicated on your reading list (most of which are substitutes for each other), there are two articles I want you to read:- Contracting for Environmental Property Rights: The Case of Vittel (2008), by Depres, Grolleau and Mzoughi in Economica (vol. 75).
- Increasing Participation and Compliance in International Climate Change Agreements (2003), by Barrett and Stavins in International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics (vol. 3).
It is generally difficult to find good literature on Coase theorem. If you are writing your essay about this topic, I recommend the following article. It is a little bit more advanced than the rest of the readings, but it is very worth reading:- Information and the Coase Theorem (1987), by Farrell in Journal of Economic Perspectives (vol. 1).
- Contact me
- Office hours: Fridays Nov. 4, Nov. 18, Dec. 2, between 2-3pm in room STC.S507. Please e-mail me in advance if you are coming, so we can avoid everyone showing up at once.
- Email: r calel lse ac uk