RES-ECON 262: Environmental Economics

Example syllabus only – exact content subject to change. Please see your instructor’s syllabus for the current term for your specific course’s guidelines

Class meetings Tuesday and Thursday, 2:30 - 3:45 pm, Integrated Learning Center S331

Professor John Stranlund, https://sites.google.com/view/johnstranlund/home
Contact: @email
Office hours: Wednesdays 12:00 – 1:30 pm, and by appointment, online.
Office hours link: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/92367469745

Teaching Assistant Rui  Wang, https://sites.google.com/umass.edu/rwang.
Contact: @email
Office hours: Wednesdays 3:00 – 5:00 pm, online.
Office hours link: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/98655052236.

Canvas https://umamherst.instructure.com/courses/35339

Course description and objectives

Resource Economics 262 is an introductory course in environmental economics that is concerned with the application of economic concepts and tools to environmental issues, particularly pollution problems. We will spend the first weeks of the course reviewing the relevant economic concepts and then we will apply these concepts to the fundamental issues that define research in environmental economics: the economic causes of environmental degradation; the design of policies to improve environmental quality; and the measurement of the costs and benefits of environmental policy.

Learning objectives

• Learn fundamental economic concepts and tools that are relevant to the study of environmental economics and policy.
• Critically apply economic concepts and tools to understand the causes of environmental degradation and the design of policies to improve environmental quality.
• Incorporate the concepts of the cost-effective and efficient design of environmental policies.
• Examine the ways in which markets that produce pollution fail to be efficient.
• Examine and critically evaluate alternative policies that are used to confront market failures involving pollution.
• Incorporate economic concepts, tools, and results in a more holistic view of society and the environment.

ResEcon 262 is a General Education course with a Social and Behavioral Science designation (see https://www.umass.edu/gened/objectives-designations/learning-objectives for General Education learning objectives, and https://www.umass.edu/gened/objectives-designations/curricular- designations/social-world for Social and Behavioral Sciences learning objectives). As such:

CONTENT. ResEcon 262 addresses fundamental ideas and methods of analysis in economics and applies them to the study of environmental protection. Economics as a social science provides powerful analytical tools that help us understand the economic causes of environmental degradation and how institutions can be designed to improve environmental quality.

CRITICAL THINKING. The analytical tools you learn in ResEc 262 will help sharpen your critical thinking of the causes of and remedies for pollution problems.

COMMUNICATION. You will practice your critical thinking skills in homework assignments and class discussions of lecture topics and additional readings drawn from recent news and scholarly articles.

CONNECTIONS. I hope that what you learn in this course will complement what you have learned of environmental problems and policies, your own reading, and your lived experiences.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Grades:

Three midterms, 60%: Midterm exams are worth 20% each. They will be given on March 5 and April 16 and at the scheduled time during finals week. The last midterm is not cumulative. No makeup exams will be given except when I am required to excuse an absence for specific circumstances under Section IX of Academic Regulations. These circumstances include jury duty, military obligations, certain athletic events and scheduled field trips, the death of a family member, illness, or religious observance (with advance notice).

Problem sets, 40%: There will be eight assignments and we will count your best six scores.

Problem sets are always due on Thursday by 5:00 pm, with a 15 minute grace period. No late assignments will be accepted.

Your grade will be determined based only on the above—there are no extra credit opportunities. Final grades will be determined by the following minimum grade cutoff points based on your percentage of the total points available: A = 90, A− = 87, B+ = 83, B = 80, B− = 77, C+ = 73, C =70, C− = 67, D+ = 63, D = 60 and F < 60.

While you are free to discuss assignments with your colleagues, I expect the writing and reasoning in your work to be your own. The use of a generative AI technology to answer homework questions is not allowed. If I find that you have cheated on a problem set or an exam, I will pursue the matter to the fullest extent possible under the University’s Academic Honesty Policy. 

Required reading

Most of the required reading is from Barry and Martha Field’s Environmental Economics: An Introduction, 2024 release. You have several options to order this book:

• A custom eBook version that includes only the chapters covered in this class is available at https://www.mheducation.com/highered/custom/product/9798219044861.html.
• Rent or buy the full textbook. As I write this (Jan. 20, 2026), the rental price is about $68.
• You may also use the 8^th (2020) edition of the book.

My lectures will be posted on our Canvas page. (More on this below). You should treat these as part of the required reading for the course.

Additional readings, lectures, and other items will be posted on Canvas.

There are many sources on the web that focus on material that is relevant for this course. Here are a few that I recommend:

• New York Times—Climate and Environment, https://www.nytimes.com/section/climate
• Washington Post—Energy and Environment, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment The Conversation (Environment + Energy), https://theconversation.com/us/environment
• Energy Institute at Haas Blog, https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/ Resources for the Future, http://www.rff.org/home
• Common  Resources,  http://www.rff.org/blog
• Resource Radio (podcasts), https://www.resourcesmag.org/resources-radio/

Procedures

Communication: Direct communication outside of class times with myself and your TA will take place with our university emails. We will use only university email addresses. I tend to send frequent emails, so please check your campus email often.

Announcements: All announcements will be posted at the top of the Canvas page. These announcements will include reading assignments, due dates for homework, exam information, etc. There will be at least one set of announcements per week to let you know what is happening that week.

Lectures: PDF copies of my lectures are posted on our Canvas page. The lectures for this class are in person.

Homework assignments: Homework assignments will consist of combinations of short answers (1 to 3 sentences) and short essays (1/2 to 1 page). You should anticipate writing 2-3 pages for each assignment, or 12-20 pages for the semester.

Homework assignments will be posted on Canvas. You will access and submit your assignments via Canvas using the assignment links. You will provide your answers with the ‘online text’ feature in Canvas. We do not accept other submission types, such as pdfs or photos. Homework assignments

are always due on Thursdays by 5:00 pm. No late assignments will be accepted except for truly extraordinary circumstances. In return for being firm about his requirement, we will drop your two lowest homework scores in determining your final grade.

Exams: Exams are in-class exams. They are not open-book or open-note exams. Exam questions are similar to homework questions.

Office hours: Your TA and I will be conducting office hours with a combination of in-person and Zoom meetings. Our Zoom meeting links are at the top of this syllabus and at the top of the Moodle course page. We will be sending reminder emails before each scheduled meeting.

I urge you to take advantage of our office hours. Your TA and I can help you with your homework assignments during our office hours but make sure that you have made a significant attempt to complete your assignment before you ask us for help.

Course Schedule and Reading List

(Subject to change)
 

Statements and Policies

Academic Integrity

UMass Amherst is strongly committed to academic integrity, which is defined as completing all academic work without cheating, lying, stealing, or receiving unauthorized assistance from any other person, or using any source of information not appropriately authorized or attributed. As a community, we hold each other accountable and support each other’s knowledge and understanding of academic integrity. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University and includes but is not limited to: Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, lying, and facilitating dishonesty, via analogue and digital means. Sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed or participated in an academic integrity infraction. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed an academic integrity infraction should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. All students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have read and acknowledged the Commitment to Academic Integrity and are knowingly responsible for completing all work with integrity and in accordance with the policy: (https://www.umass.edu/senate/book/academic-regulations-academic-integrity-policy)

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst is committed to fostering inclusive learning environments. I believe that the University is enriched by diversity along a number of dimensions, including race, ethnicity and national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, class and religion. Therefore, I view the diversity that students bring to this class as a resource, strength, and benefit. Your suggestions about how I might offer a more inclusive course are encouraged and appreciated.

Accommodation Statement

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning disability on file with Disability Services (DS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so that we may make appropriate arrangements. For further information, please visit Disability Services (https://www.umass.edu/disability/).

Title IX Statement (Non-responsible Employee)

In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits gender-based discrimination in educational settings that receive federal funds, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing a safe learning environment for all students, free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and retaliation. This includes interactions in person or online through digital platforms and social media. Title IX also protects against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or related conditions, including recovery. There are resources here on campus to support you. A summary of the available Title IX resources (confidential and non- confidential) can be found at the following link: https://www.umass.edu/titleix/resources. You do not need to make a formal report to access them. If you need immediate support, you are not alone. Free and confidential support is available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week / 365 days a year at the SASA Hotline 413-545-0800.