Phillip LeBel

Economics of Natural Resources

As posted on the syllabus, this course contains weblinks to datasets, application modules, classroom case studies, and electronic reserve readings. These web-based materials are listed below.

Natural Resource Economics

Course Syllabus

Natural Resource Economics Files

Class 1 - The Range and Scope of Natural Resource and Environmental Economics

Class 2 - Markets and States in Environmental Choices

Class 3 - Sustainable Development: Concepts and Measures

Class 4 - Externalities and Common Property Resources

Class 5 - Static Optimization in Natural Resources

Class 6 - Dynamic Optimization in Natural Resources

Class 7 - Exhaustible Resource Dynamic Optimization

Class 8 - Mid-Term Examination

Class 9 - Renewable Resource Dynamic Optimization

Class 10 - Discrete-Time Models of Natural Resource Decisions

Class 11 - Technological Dimensions in Natural Resource Use

Class 12 - Dimensions of Renewable and Alternative Storage and Conversion Technologies

Class 13 - Public Policy Criteria for Natural Resource Decisions

Class 14 - Applications in Natural Resource Decisions

 Course Reserve Readings

Acemoglu, Daron and Thierry Verdier (2000).  "The Choice Between Market Failures and Corruption," American Economic Review, 90:1 (March), 194-211.

Ackerman, Frank and Elizabeth Stanton (2006).  "Climate Change – the Costs of Inaction," (Medford, Mass.: Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute).

Bator, Francis M. (1958), “Anatomy of Market Failure,” Journal of Political Economy, 72:3 (August), 351-379.

Bojö, J., J. Mucknall, K. Hamilton, N. Kishor, C. Kraus, and P. Pillai (2001).  "Environment", Draft Framework for Environmental Policy.  (Washington, D.C.:  The World Bank).

Borenstein, Severin, James Bushnell, and Frank Wolak (2001).  "Measuring Market Inefficiencies in California's Restructured Wholesale Electricity Market," paper presented at the ASSA conference in Atlanta, Georgia (January).

Coase, Ronald H (1937), “The Nature of the Firm,” Economica, New Series 4:16 (November), 386-405.

Coase, Ronald H. (1960),  “The Problem of Social Cost”, Journal of Law and Economics  (October).

Dasgupta, Partha (2006).  "Comments on the Stern Review's Economics of Climate Change",  (London, U.K.:  Royal Society Foundation for Science and Technology).

Easterbrook, Gregg (2007).  "Global Warming:  Who Loses-And Who Wins?", The Atlantic Monthly (April), 1-8.

Federal Trade Commission (1973).  “The Petroleum Industry:  Structure and Conduct”, in Mansfield, Microeconomics Readings, (326-341).

Golan, Elise, Fred Kuchler, and Lorraine Mitchell (2000).  "Economics of Food Labeling".  (Washington, D.C.:  Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Economic Report No. 793).

Goodland, Robert (1995). "The Concept of Environmental Sustainability," Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 26, 1-24.

Gylfason, Thorvaldur, and Martin L. Weitzman (2003).  "Icelandic Fisheries Management:  Fees vs. Quotas," Conference paper, Iceland and the World Economy: Small Island Economies in the Era of Globalization.  (Cambridge, Mass.:  Harvard University Center for International Development).

Koplow, Douglas (2007). "Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in the United States: 2007 Update", (Geneva: Switzerland: Institutional Institute for Sustainable Development, Global Subsidies Initiative).

Krautkraemer, Jeffrey A. (1998).  "Nonrenewable Resource Scarcity," Journal of Economic Literature, 36:4 (December), pp. 2065-2107.

Lareau, Thomas J. and Douglas A. Rae (1989), "Valuing WTP for Diesel Odor Reductions: An Application of Contingent Ranking Technique," Southern Economic Journal 55:3, 728-742.

LeBel, P. (2005).  "Optimal Pricing of Biodiverse Natural Resources for Sustainable Economic Growth," Journal of Development Alternatives, 24:1-2 (March-June), 5-38.

LeBel, P. (1999), "Measuring Sustainable Economic Development in Africa," Scandinavian Journal of Development Alternatives, 18:2-3 (June-September), 265-282.

Lovins, Amory, L. Hunter Lovins, and Paul Hawken (1999).  "A Road Map for Natural Capitalism," Harvard Business Review, (May-June), 146-158.

Mehlum, Halvor, Karl Moene, and Ragnar Torvik (2006). "Institutions and the Resource Curse," The Economic Journal 116 (January), 1-20.

Newell, Richard G., James N. Sanchirico, and Suzi Kerr (2002).  "Fishing Quota Markets," Discussion Paper 02-20.  (Washington, D.C.:  Resources for the Future).

Nordhaus, William (2006), "The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change," (November).

Porter, Robert H. (1995),  “The Role of Information in U.S. Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Auctions”.  Econometrica 63:1 (January), pp. 1-28.

Santos, Georgina (2007). "Traffic Congestion Pricing: What Works and What Doesn't" The Milken Institute Review, 4th quarter, pp. 44-53.

Stern, Nicholas (2006), Review of Climate Change Science, (London, U.K.:  Royal Society Foundation for Science and Technology).

      Stern Review Part 1 –      Study Approach

      Stern Review Part 2 –      Impacts on Growth and Development

      Stern Review Part 3 –      Stabilization Economics

      Stern Review Part 4 –      Policy Mitigation Responses

      Stern Review Part 5 –      Policy Responses for Adaptation

      Stern Review Part 6 –      International Collective Action

      Stern Review Charts -      Stern Review Charts

Tietenberg, Tom (2003).  "The Tradable-Permits Approach to Protecting the Commons:  Lessons for Climate Change," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 19:3, 400-420.

UNCTAD (1998).  Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading:  Defining the Principles, Modalities, Rules and Guidelines for Verification,  Reporting and Accountability, (Geneva, Switzerland:  UNCTAD).

Varian, Hal R. (2006).  "Recalculating the Costs of Global Climate Change," The New York Times, November 14, 2006.

____________.  "Climate of Opinion," The Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2007.

World Meterological Organization, United Nations Environmental Programme, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,  "Climate Change 2007:  Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability".  (Brussels, Belgium:  IPCC Working Group II). 

Internet Sources:

Ecological Economics Resources:

            http://www.ecoeco.org

Environmental Economics Resources:

            http://www.aere.org/

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

            http://www.ipcc.ch/pub/online.htm

Japan Recycling Statistics:

            http://web-japan.org/stat/stats/19EN51.html

Nature Conservancy:

            http://nature.org/aboutus/

The Forest Stewardship Council:

            http://www.fsc.org/fsc

U.S. Department of Energy Renewable Energy Annual Report (REA):             http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/pubs.html/

U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Yearbook:

            http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/

U.S. Energy Recycling Statistics:

            http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm/

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Ambient Air-Quality Standards:

            http://www.epa.gov/air/criteria.html

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Emissions Trends:

            http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/sixpoll.html

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Acid Rain Trends:

         http://www.epa.gov/docs/acidrain/update3/allws.html

Datasets
1.
 Africa Data
2.
 Agricultural Subsidies
3.
 Bills, Bonds, Stocks, Inflation
4.
 Chesapeake Bay Marine Harvests
5.
 Energy - Crude Oil Prices
6.
 Energy Efficiency
7.
 Energy Markets
8.
 Energy Resources
9.
 Global Climate Indicators
10.
 Global Energy Intensity
11.
 Global Temperatures
12.
 Globalization Trends
13.
 Human Development Index 1998
14.
 Human Development Index 2001
15.
 Human Development Index 2004
16.
 Risk and Economic Growth
17.
 Risk Perception Rankings
18.
 Stock Market Bubbles
19.
 Do Types of Taxation Affect Real Per Capita GDP?
20.
 Tax Havens
21.
 U.S. Agriculture
22.
 U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions
23.
 U.S. Carbon Dioxide Intensity
24.
U.S. High-Level Nuclear Waste
25.
U.S. Low-Level Nuclear Waste
26.
U.S. Municipal Solid Waste
27.
U.S. Superfund Sites
28.
World Air Passenger Travel Trends
29.
World Bicycle Production
30.
World Biofuels Production
31.
World Fish Consumption
32.
World Fossil Fuel Consumption
33.
World Grain Production
34.
World Meat Production
35.
World Metals Production
36.
World Nuclear and Renewable Energy
37.
 World Roundwood Production
38.
World Vehicle Production
39.
World Wars and Armed Conflicts
40.
World Weather Losses

Application Modules
1.
Am Djena Project Case Study
2.
AmDjenaLoanSolution
3.
Basic Cost Benefit Analysis
4.
 Basic Forecasting
5.
Chaos in Asset Pricing
6.
Circular Flow Diagram
7.
Cobb Douglas Production Function
8.
 Commodity Price Stabilization
9.
Cost Analysis
10.
Cost Curve Relationships
11.
Efficient Portfolios
12.
Engel Curves
13.
Excise Taxation
14.
Excise Tax Criteria
15.
Excise Tax Optimization
16.
Exhaustible Resource MultiPeriod Model
17.
Externalities
18.
Externalities Optimal Management Model
19.
Fundamentals of Finance
20.
Income Inequality Measurement
21.
Introductory Price Elasticity
22.
Leontief Basic Static Input-Output Model
23.
Marginal Productivity
24.
Matrix Operations
25.
Millet Mill Solution Tableau
26.
Optimal Investment Storage
27.
Optimal Resource Pricing
28.
Optimal Taxation of Negative Externalities
29.
Price Discrimination and Economic Efficiency
30.
Random Demand Profit Maxima
31.
Regression Demand and Supply
32.
Supply and Demand
33.
Tariffs and Quotas in International Trade
34.
The Basic Stock Option Pricing Model
35.
The Cobweb Model
36.
The Law of Variable Proportions
37.
The Measurement of Risk
38.
The Ranking of Risk
39.
Tropical Timber Model
40.
Optimal Allocation of Renewable Natural Resources

Case Studies
1.
Basic Supply and Demand
2.
Engel Curve Income Elasticity of Demand
3.
Economics of Excise Taxes
4.
The Basic Harrod Domar Model
5.
Basic Economic Efficiency
6.
Basic Market Dynamics
7.
Competition versus Monopoly
8.
Income Distribution
9.
The Cournot Duopoly Model
10.
Optimal Excise Taxation
11.
Commodity Price Stabilization
12.
Profit Maximization under Risk
13.
Optimal Pricing of Exhaustible Resources V.1
14.
Externalities Case Study
15.
16.

N. Greg Mankiw

William Easterley "Dismal Science"
William Faris "Starbucks vs. Ethiopia"
Mike Spector "Road Could Get Worse for Detroit"
Randall Smith "Insider Trading: It Could Get Worse"
Myron Scholes "Risk Management Interview"
 

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