PAI 777 – The Economics of Environmental Policy Professor David Popp Spring 2018

Guidelines for the Research Paper

The major assignment for this class is the research paper. The goal of this assignment is to get you thinking about issues raised in class. In particular, the paper should make you think about how the work we do in class relates to a real-world issue. For the paper, you should apply the materials of the course to an environmental problem. The problem may be one that has been addressed in policy circles, or one that hasn’t been addressed, but that you think should. You may choose to argue that a problem is being addressed incorrectly, or even that it shouldn’t be addressed at all (e.g. that the problem is not serious enough to justify government intervention). Several suggestions for topics are listed at the end of this handout. Your paper should begin with a brief description of your issue, and include a review of the theory that is relevant to your topic. The main portion of the paper should apply the theory to the topic at hand in a way that allows you to draw your own conclusions about the topic of your paper.

Note that you are free to cite the views of others in your paper. However, the final paper must be in your own words. You should not quote directly from a paper unless the exact wording of the author is important. Rather, you should incorporate materials from other sources into your paper using your own words. Finally, when you use ideas, facts, or analysis taken from another source, it is important that you cite the source. This is true whether the material is directly quoted or merely paraphrased. Be aware that failure to properly acknowledge the contributions of others can be considered plagiarism and will be severely punished.

The final paper will be due at the beginning of our last class meeting Monday, April 30. It should be between 10 and 15 pages, double-spaced. To get you thinking about a topic, a short (one-page maximum) statement of your topic will be due on Wednesday, March 7. The short paper should state what your question is, why it is of interest (to you and others), and include some preliminary ideas of how you will proceed. You are encouraged to come talk with me about paper ideas well before the March 8th deadline. Even though this is not due until March 7, you should begin preliminary research on a topic soon! The late due date is to give students a chance to see what topics covered in class interest them, and to allow time to do some preliminary research on these topics.

I have included information on locating sources and on potential topics. The list of topics should help you get started; however, you are encouraged to come up with a topic on your own. You are more likely to write a successful paper on a relatively narrow topic (e.g. an analysis of the effect of the Paris agreement on climate change on developing countries) than on a broad topic (e.g. what can be done about climate change?). Please see me if you have any questions about whether a topic is appropriate.

Finally, note that the paper requirement for students choosing the Ph.D. grading option is slightly different. Rather than simply analyzing a policy question, Ph.D. students should prepare a research proposal. The purpose of this assignment is to get you thinking about doing your own research, and to force you to think more carefully about the methods used by environmental economists. Note that I do not expect you to carry out your proposal by the end of class. One semester is not enough time to do Ph.D. quality research. Rather, your paper should:

1) State the question that you propose to address (note that for most of you, the question is likely

to be inspired by a policy issue, although that isn’t necessary), 2) Summarize the existing literature on this topic, 3) Show how your proposed research contributes to the literature in this area, and 4) Propose how you would go about answering your question.

Below are some guidelines as to what makes a good research paper:

• Content: o The paper should apply theories and techniques used in class to a specific policy problem.

For example, don’t just provide a general summary of how a carbon tax works. Show how it has been used (or could be used) in a specific country.

o Things I will look for: Description of the problem

• Is it clear? Are sufficient details provided? Depth of analysis

• The research paper should include more in-depth analysis than a policy memo. It isn’t just longer – it should include original thought.

• Does the paper simply describe what happened, or provide analysis and recommendations?

• Do the recommendations follow from the analysis? Are they consistent? o Be sure to cite where your information comes from. Don’t just include a list of references.

You also need to show where those references are used in the paper. When you use facts, ideas, or analysis from another source, they must be cited. This

is true even if you paraphrase the argument in your own words. • Writing

o Presentation matters. Think carefully about how to organize your argument. “Stream of consciousness” writing that bounces from topic to topic is hard to follow,

particularly in a longer paper. It leads to your arguments getting lost in the confusion.

o Is the writing clear? Make sure that your arguments make sense. Will the reader understand what you are writing about? Do you provide sufficient

background information? • It may help to have a friend who is less familiar with the paper read it. It is

easy to take for granted specialized knowledge after you’ve spent a while researching a topic.

• Think about what you would have known about the topic before beginning your research. If you wouldn’t have known about something before, don’t assume that your reader will know it.

o Are there typos? Proofread carefully. There should not be typos, and you should use correct

grammar. • Is your final product something you would be willing to show to a

prospective employer? If not, more editing is needed.

Helpful Resources

To get started, you may find it helpful to check current events magazines, such as the Economist. A journal likely to be particularly helpful is the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. This journal aims to review the latest environmental economics research in a way accessible to policy makers and other non-economists. In addition, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, which is the source of many of the articles on the reading list, is written to be accessible to a wide audience, and often have articles pertaining to environmental issues. Other more advanced journals that focus on the environment are the Journal of Economics and Environmental Management, Land Economics, The Energy Journal, and Resource and Energy Economics. Each of these should be available either at the library or on-line. In addition, general-interest economic journals such as American Economic Review and the Journal of Political Economy often include articles related to the environment.

A good source for journal articles in economics is EconLit. This is available on-line from the SU library. To access it, go to:

http://library.syr.edu/ Once there, click on the Databases tab to search for individual database titles.

Another good search option is Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/), which includes articles from a wide variety of disciplines.

Another useful database available through the library is ProQuest. ProQuest includes both professional journal articles and current event articles from newspapers and magazines such as the Economist and New York Times.

If you are looking for statistics, the Internet can be a great help, if you know where to look. In particular, when using the Internet, pay close attention to the source of your information. Many groups with specific agendas have sites on the Internet. Be aware of the policies being advocated at a particular site when examining their information and considering its credibility. When looking for data, the following are some useful sources:

• Perhaps the most useful page for economists is Resources for Economists on the Internet, found at: http://rfe.org/

• The U.S. government also many useful sites. For starters, the Environmental Protection Agency’s

home page is: http://www.epa.gov/

• In addition, for energy-related data (including some pollution data), the Energy Information

Administration is an excellent source: http://www.eia.gov/

Links to these, as well as many other useful sites, can be found on the useful links section of the

class home page: http://classes.maxwell.syr.edu/pai777/index.html

Should you need any assistance in finding a topic or a source, please do not hesitate to ask.

Suggested Research Paper Topics

Some suggestions for paper topics are included below. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but rather a way to get you thinking about potential topics. Your topic need not come from this list, and I would encourage you to consider topics not on the list that meet your personal interests.

How can overcrowding in National Parks be resolved?

Evaluate a policy designed to promote the preservation of open spaces.

Compare and contrast the environmental policies of two countries. It would be best to focus on a specific type of policy (e.g. water pollution, traffic control, etc.).

Should the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) used in the U.S. be repealed?

Evaluate the new fuel economy standards recently enacted in the U.S. Will they be effective?

With the likely repeal of the U.S. Clean Power Plan, what role can states play carbon emissions? Choose a state and recommend a strategy for complying with the Clean Power Plan.

Discuss alternative policies to encourage recycling. Can such policies help to encourage the use of recycled materials, as well as simply encourage more people to recycle?

How can policies designed to combat climate change deal with the uncertainty over the severity of the problem?

Should the Superfund legislation that deals with toxic waste be reformed?

How does United States agriculture policy affect the environment?

What role should cost-benefit analysis play in environmental regulations?

Are the results from contingent valuation studies an appropriate measure to use in cost-benefit analysis?

Consider the equity issues involved with an environmental regulation. Do environmental regulations place an unfair burden on certain groups? If so, can you propose alternative solutions?

Should the government finance research on alternative energy resources? On fuel cells for cars?

Can policy facilitate the transfer of clean technologies to developing countries?

What role does environmental policy play in encouraging the development of new technologies?

Are Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) an effective policy for U.S. states? Should they be applied at the national level?

How (if at all) should policies to promote energy efficiency account for recent developments in behavioral economics?

Provide an example of how behavioral economics affects other areas of environmental policy.

Suggest alternative policies to deal with the distribution of water rights in the Western United States.

How can recent problems caused by droughts in California be avoided or minimized?

Consider an environmental problem in a developing country. What solutions are most likely to work to address the problem? Are there barriers to implementation that wouldn’t occur in a developed country?

What role should developing countries play in reducing greenhouse emissions?

Should natural resources be included in the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?

How can tradable pollution permits work on an international level to address problems such as climate change?

How has NAFTA affected environmental quality in any of the participating countries (the United States, Mexico, and Canada)?

Should protecting environmental quality be part of trade policy?