Energy and Environmental Economics I

This course will emphasize the economics of natural resource production and problems associated with externalities and common property, with a focus on the energy sector. Most lectures will be theoretical in nature, but we will spend considerable time studying applications that have an empirical component. The course has several complementary objectives: (1) provide a solid foundation in concepts like Hotelling's Rule and Pigouvian taxation that are a prerequisite for understanding modern environmental and resource economics; (2) develop proficiency with theoretical, computational, and empirical tools that will be valuable for future self-directed research; and (3) gain experience in reading, presenting, and discussing modern research in energy and environmental economics.