COMMUNITY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT 357
NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS
SPRING 2007

Environmental issues can be viewed from two perspectives, the physical and the social. While it is important to understand the physical processes and impacts involved, it is also important to have measures of both the benefits and costs of natural resources and the environment. Physical measures alone are not enough to evaluate choices and policies concerning social welfare. The role of government involvement in resource and environmental issues must be examined and weighed against the market alternatives. The purpose of this course is to provide students with knowledge of the basic economic theory and tools used to analyze environmental and natural resource issues. Students will learn to apply these tools and theory to understand environmental and natural resource issues and to critically evaluate alternative policies.

A course in introductory economic theory or microeconomic theory.

Required Readings:

Barry C. Field (2001 or 2005). Natural Resource Economics: An Introduction, McGraw Hill.

Terry Anderson and Donald Leal (2001). Free Market Environmentalism, St. Martin's Press

Lipton et al (1995). Economic Valuation of Natural Resources, NOAA Coastal Ocean Program available online at: http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/Extension/valuation/handbook.htm

Supplemental Readings:

Molly Espey (2001). Economics for Natural Resource Analysis in a Nutshell, http://www.sc.edu/sustainableu/espeyFullmanual.pdf

Additional supplemental readings will also be provided throughout the course.

FROM THE OFFICE OF STUDENT DISABILITY SERVICES:

"It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have disabillities. Students are encouraged to contact Student Diability Services to discuss their individual needs for accommodation."

OFFICE HOURS: MTWTF 10:00-11:00 a.m..

Students are free to see me any time I am in the office, but I will make a point of being available during the above hours. If the above hours are not convenient, students may also make appointments with me.

EVALUATION:

Criteria: Student grades will be determined by scores in three major performance areas: Individual Performance, Group Performance, and Group Maintenance.

Assignments and Exams: There will be five short, multiple choice, true-false Readiness Assessment Tests (RATs) given during the semester, one at the beginning of each unit. The same RAT will be given to individuals, then to groups. Groups will be formed by Dr. Espey and students will work in these same groups during class time throughout the semester. There will in-class group learning activities and assignments on a regular (almost daily) basis. Students will also be responsible for individually completing five homework problem sets involving the application of theory discussed in class which will due at the beginning of the designated class dates. Late homework assignments will be marked down 10% and will only be accepted one day late unless prior arrangements are made with Dr. Espey. Each student will also be responsible for writing a policy analysis paper, an individually conducted economic analysis of a resource use conflict or natural resource policy. The final exam will be comprised of short answer analysis of economic theory and problems similiar to the homework problems and will be comprehensive.

Evaluating Group Maintenance:

Each individual will rate the helpfulness of all the other members of their groups after the last class period. Peer Evaluation scores will be the average of the points received from the other members of one's group. Each individual will have a total number of points to distribute to his/her teammates equal to 10 times the number of other group members. For example, if there are six members in a group, each student has 50 points to assign to the other five members of the group. At least some of the ratings must be differentiated, that is, not all of the other members can be given a t0. These scores are then used to weight the overall group score for the portion of the grade allocated to group maintenance. The Group Maintenance scores will produce differences in grades only within groups. As a result, group members can't help everyone in their group get an A by giving them a high peer evaluation score. The only way for everyone in the group to earn an A is by doing an outstanding job on the individual and group exams and assignments.

Determination of Final Grades:

The final grades are a weighted combination of the scores in each of the major performance areas (Individual and Group). The Individual Performance score is a weighted combination of the individual RATs, individual homework assignments, policy analysis paper, and final exam score. The Group Performance is a weighted average of the group RATs and group assignments weighted by the Group Maintenance score.

Academic Integrity Policy of the University:
Academic Dishonesty is defined as: (1) Giving, receiving or using unauthorized aid on any academic work; (2) Plagiarism, which includes the copying of language, structure, or ideas of another and attributing the work to one's own efforts; (3) Attempts to copy, edit, or delete computer files that belong to another person or use of Computer Center account numbers that belong to another person without the permission of the file owner, account owner or file number owner. All academic work submitted for grading contains an implicit pledge and may contain, at the request of an instructor, an explicit pledge by the student that no unauthorized aid has been received.

"As members of the Clemson University community, we have inheirited Thomas Green Clemson's vision of this institution as a 'high seminary of learning.' Fundamental to this vision is a mutual commitment to truthfulness, honor, and responsibility, without which we cannot earn the trust and respect of others. Furthermore, we recognize that academic dishonesty detracts from the value of a Clemson degree. Therefore, we shall not tolerate lying, cheating, or stealing in any form."

COURSE SCHEDULE:
(Readiness Assessment Tests will cover the material in Field and Lipton only. Anderson and Leal will be referenced for application and discussion.)

Introductory Reading:

Field-chapters 1 and 2
Anderson and Leal-chapter 1

Unit 1: Review: Economic Theory of Markets and Economic Measures of Welfare

(Readiness Assessment Test - Wednesday 1/17)
Field chapters 3 and 4
Lipton chapters 2 and 4
Anderson and Leal chapter 2
Homework 1 due Monday 1/29

Unit 2: Economic Efficiency, Markets and Public Policy for Natural Resources

(Readiness Assessment Test - Wednesday 1/31)
Field chapters 5,6, and 7
Anderson and Leal chapters 3, 4, and 5
Homework 2 due Wednesday 2/19

Unit 3: Economics of Nonrenewable Resources and Energy Resources

(Readingess Assessment Test - Wednesday 2/21)
Field chapter 10
Anderson and Leal chapter 7
Policy Analysis Paper Part 1 due Monday 2/27
Homework 3 due Wednesday 3/15

Unit 4: Economics of Forestry and Fisheries

(Readiness Assessment Test - Wednesday 3/14)
Field chapters 12 and 13
Anderson and Leal chapter 9
SPRING BREAK 3/19-3/23

Homework 4 due Monday 4/9

Unit 5: Natural Resource Analysis and Non-market Valuation

(Readiness Assessment Test - Monday 4/12)
Field chapters 8 and 9
Lipton chapters 3,5, and 6
Homework 5 due Wednesday 4/25
Policy Analysis Papers due Monday 4/25

 

FINAL EXAM: Thursday May 3, 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.

This is a preliminary syllabus and is subject to change. The official syllabus is the one distributed in class.

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2007 Dr. Molly Espey, Professor, Department of Applied Economics & Statistics, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0313

updated 2/27/07