RES-ECON 263: Natural Resource 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

Course description and objectives

Resource Economics 263 is an introductory course in natural resource economics. We will examine how economic analysis helps us understand the problems of natural resource management. We will spend the first weeks of the course reviewing the relevant economic concepts and then we will apply these concepts to problems associated with nonrenewable resources, energy, forests, fisheries, and biodiversity. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Learning objectives

• Learn fundamental economic concepts and tools that are relevant to the study of natural resource use and management.
• Incorporate and merge the concepts of the efficient use of natural resources and the sustainable use of natural resources.
• Critically apply economic concepts and tools to understand the use of nonrenewable resources, energy, marine resources, forests, and biodiversity.
• Examine the ways in which markets involving natural resources fail to be efficient and/or sustainable.
• Examine and critically evaluate alternative policies that are used to confront market failures involving natural resources.
• Incorporate economic concepts, tools and results into a more holistic view of society’s relationship to the natural world.

ResEcon 263 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 263 addresses fundamental ideas and methods of analysis in economics and applies them to the study of natural resource use and management. Economics as a social science provides powerful analytical tools that help us understand society’s use of natural resources, how markets involving natural resource often fail to be efficient and/or sustainable, and how institutions can be designed to correct these failures.

A unique feature of ResEcon 263 is that it addresses the fact that the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources is inherently dynamic. Many resources can be depleted over time; some are renewable through natural growth processes; and other choices involve tradeoffs between current and future generations. ResEcon 263 will introduce you to the economic dynamics of natural resource use and management in an easily accessible way.

CRITICAL THINKING: The analytical tools you learn in ResEc 263 will help sharpen your critical thinking of the causes of and remedies for market failures involving natural resources.

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 natural resource use and management from other courses, your own reading, and your lived experiences.

Grades

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 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

The required text for this course is Barry Field’s, Natural Resource Economics: An Introduction, Fourth Edition, Waveland Press, 2023. (The third edition of this book is fine to use.)

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

Additional readings, lectures, and other items will also 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. There are many others:

• 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/ Environmental Economics, http://www.env-econ.net/
• 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 and through video conferencing with Zoom. 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 Canvas. 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 on the Canvas course page. We will send 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)

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.

Academic Honesty Statement

Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent (http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/codeofconduct/acadhonesty/).

Title IX Statement

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.