PUBPOL 5970
Economics and Environmental Policy
This class will focus on the use of economics as a tool in forming and evaluating environmental policy, with a focus on how economists measure the health and economic effects of pollution and environmental regulation in the United States. Topics include: externalities in an environmental context; regulation methods such as command and control, Pigouvian taxation, and cap and trade; overview of current environmental legislation; environmental quality and health; regulation and environmental justice. (MPA-ECONPL, MPA-ENPO, MPA-INTPMN, MPA-ME, MPA-PUBNON, MPA-SOCPOL)
Topics
- Students will be able to explain the reasons for market failure in the presence of externalities in an environmental context.
- Students will identify common methods of government intervention in environmental regulation, and explain relative strengths and weaknesses in the context of both social efficient and equity.
- Students will discuss and evaluate methods used to measure the health and economic effects of environmental quality and various environmental policies.
- Students will address the common tradeoffs between equity and efficiency in environmental policy, including environmental justice.
Official roster learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027