Environmental Policy

Catalog description

This course provides an overview of environmental policy, from an economic perspective, with a focus on practical applications of environmental problem solving. In this course, we will characterize environment problems and examine arguments for policy intervention. The course will cover methods including environmental policy evaluation, cost-benefit analysis, and nonmarket valuation. Policy topics covered include, but are not limited to: air, water, climate, sustainability, development, energy, and environmental justice. The class focuses on US environmental policy; however, topics of global environmental policy will be incorporated. By the end of this course, students will be able to: (1) conduct economic analysis of environmental policy issues; (2) discuss the benefits and drawbacks of commonly applied tools for environmental policy analysis and commonly used generic policies for responding to environmental challenges; (3) identify important landmarks in US environmental policy and describe the surrounding institutional conditions; and (4) communicate evidence, translate scientific findings, and argue persuasively in debates about how to respond to pressing environmental challenges