Growth, Resources, and the Environment
Friday 10:15 - 11:45 in VG 3.101
First lecture: October 28
Exercises: Tuesday: 12-14 in OEC 0.169
Main text: Selected journal articles and selected chapters from Perman, R. et al., 2003, Natural Resource and Environmental Economics; David Weil, 2005, Economic Growth; Jones, C.I., 2002, Introduction to Economic Growth. Course material for participants is available at the course material webpage
1. Introduction: The Limits to Growth (Or Not?)
References: Nordhaus, W.D., 1992, Lethal model 2: The limits to growth revisited, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 2, 1-43.
David Weil, 2005, Economic Growth, Chapter 16.1.-2.
2. A General Resource Constrained Model
References: Nordhaus, W.D., 1992, Lethal model 2: The limits to growth revisited, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 2, 1-43.
Jones, C.I., 2013, Introduction to Economic Growth, Norton, Chapter 10.
3. A Theory of Resource Prices
References: Krautkraemer, J., 1998, Non-renewable resource scarcity, Journal of Economic Literature 36, 2065-2107.
Perman et al., Ch. 14-15.
Excursion: The Gas Price Break
4. Optimal Use of Non-renewable Resources and Sustainability
Reference: Perman et al., Ch. 14-15.
5. Growth and the Environment: The Green Solow Model
References: W.A. Brock and M.S. Taylor, 2005, Economic growth and the environment: A review of theory and empirics, Handbook of Economic Growth, Chapter 28.
David Weil, 2005, Economic Growth, Chapter 16.3.
Perman pp. 36-40
6. The Economics of Global Warming
References: Perman pp. 321-334.
7. Accounting for Climate Change: The Stern Report and the Dice Model
References: Nordhaus, W. (2018). Projections and uncertainties about climate change in an era of minimal climate policies. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 10(3), 333-60.
N. Stern, 2008, The economics of climate change, American Economic Review 98, 1-27.
W.D. Nordhaus, 2007, A review of the Stern review on the economics of climate change, Journal of Economic Literature 45, 686-702.
7.a. A Simple Integrated Assessment Model
Reference: Golosov, M., Hassler, J., Krusell, P., and Tsyvinski, A. (2014). Optimal taxes on fossil fuel in general equilibrium. Econometrica, 82(1), 41-88.
8. (How) Shall We Discount the Future?
References: Dasgupta, P., 2008, Discounting Climate Change, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 37, 141-169.
Weitzman, M.L., 2007, A review of the Stern Review, Journal of Economic Literature 45, 703-724.
Weitzman, M. L. 2001. Gamma discounting. American Economic Review, 91(1), 260-271.
9. Uncertainty and Climate Change
References: Nordhaus, W. D., 2011. The economics of tail events with an application to climate change. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 5(2), 240-257.
Weitzman, M. L., 2012. GHG targets as insurance against catastrophic climate damages. Journal of Public Economic Theory, 14(2), 221-244.
Millner, A., Dietz, S., and Heal, G., 2013. Scientific ambiguity and climate policy. Environmental and Resource Economics, 55(1), 21-46.
Lemoine, D., and Traeger, C., 2014 Watch your step: optimal policy in a tipping climate. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 6(1), 137-66.
10. A Supply-Side Model of Global Warming and the Green Paradox
Reference: H.-W. Sinn, 2008, Public policies against global warming, International Tax and Public Finance 15, 360-394.
10.A International Climate Policy, Free Riding and Climate Clubs
Reference: Nordhaus, W. (2015). Climate clubs: Overcoming free-riding in international climate policy. American Economic Review, 105(4), 1339-70.
11. The Environment and Directed Technical Change
Reference: Acemoglu, D., Aghion, P., Bursztyn, L., and Hemous, D., 2012. The environment and directed technical change. American economic review, 102(1), 131-66.
12. Depletion of Renewable Resources and the Tragedy of the Commons
References: Dockner et al, 2000, Differential Games in Economics, 331-333.
J.A. Brander and M.S. Taylor, 1998, The simple economics of Easter Island, American Economic Review 88, 119-138.
13. Resource Abundance and Growth at the Country Level
References: Sachs, J.D., and Warner, A.M. (2001). The curse of natural resources. European Economic Review, 45(4), 827-838.
Torvik, R. (2001). Learning by doing and the Dutch disease. European Economic Review, 45(2), 285-306.
Rodriguez, F., and Sachs, J.D. (1999). Why do resource-abundant economies grow more slowly?. Journal of Economic Growth, 4(3), 277-303.
14. Institution and the Resource Curse
References: Mehlum, H., K. Moene, and R. Torvik, 2006, Institutions and the Resource Curse, Economic Journal 116, 1-20.
15. Resources, Kleptocracy, and Divide-and-Rule
Reference: Acemoglu, D., Verdier, T., and Robinson, J., 2004, Kleptocracy and Divide-and-Rule: A Model of Personal Rule, Journal of the European Economic Association 2, 162-192.