Georgia Tech · Fall 2026

ECON 7102 — Environmental Economics I

Ph.D. field course · Mon/Wed 11:00–12:15 · West Architecture 259

Syllabus (PDF) All materials Canvas

Course information
Meets
Monday and Wednesday, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Room
West Architecture 259
Instructor
Prof. Casey J. Wichman
Email
wichman@gatech.edu
Office
OCE 310 · office hours: Wed, 3:30–4:30 PM
Text
Phaneuf & Requate (2017), A Course in Environmental Economics (P&R)

Reading the schedule

  • response due Written response, submitted on Canvas by 11:59 PM the night before class.
  • discussion Eligible for a student-led discussion.
  • abstract due One-page research abstract, submitted on Canvas by 11:59 PM the Sunday before. Rapid-fire pitches in the Monday class.
  • lecture00.pdf Slides, posted before each class.

Deadlines

Sep 13 · Sep 27 · Oct 11 · Oct 25 · Nov 8Research abstracts (Sundays)
Nov 16Final proposal pitches (in class)
Nov 30 – Dec 7Proposal presentations
Dec 11Written proposal

This page is the current schedule and will change as the semester goes on. Changes are posted here and announced in class.

Week 1Aug 24–Aug 26

01Overview

readings
  • Syllabus

02Introduction to environmental economics

slideslecture02.pdf
readings
  • Don Fullerton and Robert Stavins (1998). “How economists see the environment.” Nature. PDF link
  • Kenneth J. Arrow et al. (1996). “Is there a role for benefit-cost analysis in environmental, health, and safety regulation?” Science. PDF
  • John V. Krutilla (1967). “Conservation reconsidered.” American Economic Review. PDF
Week 2Aug 31–Sep 2

03Theory of externalities

slideslecture03.pdf
readings
  • P&R Chapters 1–2
  • Paul A. Samuelson (1954). “The pure theory of public expenditure.” Review of Economics and Statistics. PDF

04Theory of environmental policy

slideslecture04.pdf
readings
  • P&R Chapter 3
  • Ronald Coase (1960). “The problem of social cost.” Journal of Law and Economics. PDF response due
Week 3Sep 7–Sep 9

Labor Day – no class

05Instrument choice I

slideslecture05.pdf
readings
  • P&R Chapter 4 (skim 4.2 and 4.3)

Research discussion, and the theory of environmental policy from Class 04 concluded.

Week 4Sep 14–Sep 16

06Instrument choice I, continued

slideslecture05.pdf
readings
  • Martin Weitzman (1974). “Prices versus quantities.” Review of Economic Studies. PDF response due

abstract 1 – due Sun Sep 13 Rapid-fire pitches in class.

07Instrument choice II

slideslecture07.pdf
readings
  • P&R Chapter 5
  • Lawrence Goulder and Ian Parry (2008). “Instrument choice in environmental policy.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. PDF
Week 5Sep 21–Sep 23

08Instrument choice III

readings
  • P&R Chapter 5, continued
  • Thomas H. Tietenberg (1990). “Economic instruments for environmental regulation.” Oxford Review of Economic Policy. PDF

09Instrument choice IV

slideslecture09.pdf
readings
  • P&R Chapter 7
  • Lawrence Goulder, Ian Parry, Roberton C. Williams III, and Dallas Burtraw (1999). “The cost-effectiveness of alternative instruments for environmental protection in a second-best setting.” Journal of Public Economics. PDF
  • Sarah E. West and Roberton C. Williams III (2007). “Optimal taxation and cross-price effects on labor supply: Estimates of the optimal gas tax.” Journal of Public Economics. PDF
Week 6Sep 28–Sep 30

10Welfare analysis

slideslecture10.pdf
readings
  • P&R Chapter 14
  • Robert D. Willig (1976). “Consumer's surplus without apology.” American Economic Review. PDF

abstract 2 – due Sun Sep 27 Rapid-fire pitches in class.

11Valuation I – revealed preference

slideslecture11.pdf
readings
  • P&R Chapter 15
  • W. Michael Hanemann (1991). “Willingness to pay and willingness to accept: How much can they differ?” American Economic Review. PDF
  • Jason F. Shogren, Seung Y. Shin, Dermot J. Hayes, and James B. Kliebenstein (1994). “Resolving differences in willingness to pay and willingness to accept.” American Economic Review. PDF
Week 7Oct 5–Oct 7

Fall recess – no class

Week 8Oct 12–Oct 14

13Valuation II – property value models

readings
  • P&R Chapter 18, focusing on 18.1 and 18.2
  • Kenneth Y. Chay and Michael Greenstone (2005). “Does air quality matter? Evidence from the housing market.” Journal of Political Economy. PDF
  • H. Spencer Banzhaf and Randall P. Walsh (2008). “Do people vote with their feet? An empirical test of Tiebout.” American Economic Review. PDF
  • Peter Christensen and Christopher Timmins (2022). “Sorting or steering: The effects of housing discrimination on neighborhood choice.” Journal of Political Economy. PDF

abstract 3 – due Sun Oct 11 Rapid-fire pitches in class.

14Valuation III – value of statistical life

readings
  • H. Spencer Banzhaf (2014). “Retrospectives: The Cold-War origins of the value of statistical life.” Journal of Economic Perspectives. PDF link
  • Orley Ashenfelter and Michael Greenstone (2004). “Using mandated speed limits to measure the value of a statistical life.” Journal of Political Economy. PDF
  • Jonathan M. Lee and Laura O. Taylor (2019). “Randomized safety inspections and risk exposure on the job: Quasi-experimental estimates of the value of a statistical life.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. PDF
Week 9Oct 19–Oct 21

15Midterm (in class)

No assigned reading.

16Topics: Utility pricing

readings
  • Casey J. Wichman (2024). “Efficiency, equity, and cost-recovery trade-offs in municipal water pricing.” RFF Working Paper. PDF response due
  • Arik Levinson and Emilson Silva (2022). “The electric Gini: Income redistribution through energy prices.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. PDF
  • Koichiro Ito (2014). “Do consumers respond to marginal or average price? Evidence from nonlinear electricity pricing.” American Economic Review. PDF

Discussion led by Prof. Wichman.

Week 10Oct 26–Oct 28

17Topics: Water

readings
  • David A. Keiser, Bhashkar Mazumder, David Molitor, and Joseph S. Shapiro (2023). “Water works: Causes and consequences of safe drinking water in America.” Working Paper. PDF discussion
  • W. Michael Hanemann (2006). “The economic conception of water.” Water Crisis: Myth or Reality?. PDF
  • Sheila M. Olmstead (2010). “The economics of managing scarce water resources.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. PDF
  • Andrew B. Ayres, Kyle C. Meng, and Andrew J. Plantinga (2021). “Do environmental markets improve on open access? Evidence from California groundwater rights.” Journal of Political Economy. PDF discussion
  • Charles A. Taylor and Hannah Druckenmiller (2022). “Wetlands, flooding, and the Clean Water Act.” American Economic Review. PDF discussion

abstract 4 – due Sun Oct 25 Rapid-fire pitches in class.

18Topics: Electricity externalities and pricing

readings
  • Stephen P. Holland, Erin T. Mansur, Nicholas Z. Muller, and Andrew J. Yates (2016). “Are there environmental benefits from driving electric vehicles? The importance of local factors.” American Economic Review. PDF discussion
  • Severin Borenstein and James B. Bushnell (2022). “Do two electricity pricing wrongs make a right? Cost recovery, externalities, and efficiency.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. PDF
Week 11Nov 2–Nov 4

19Topics: Energy and smart technologies

readings
  • Joshua Blonz, Karen Palmer, Casey J. Wichman, and Derek C. Wietelman (2025). “Smart thermostats, automation, and time-varying prices.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. PDF discussion
  • Megan R. Bailey, David P. Brown, Blake C. Shaffer, and Frank A. Wolak (2025). “Take the load off: Time and technology as determinants of electricity demand response.” NBER Working Paper 33836. PDF link discussion
  • Alec Brandon, Christopher M. Clapp, John A. List, Robert D. Metcalfe, and Michael Price (2022). “The human perils of scaling smart technologies: Evidence from field experiments.” NBER Working Paper 30482. PDF link

20Topics: Climate change

readings
  • Tamma Carleton et al. (2022). “Valuing the global mortality consequences of climate change accounting for adaptation costs and benefits.” Quarterly Journal of Economics. PDF discussion
  • Alan Barreca, Karen Clay, Olivier Deschenes, Michael Greenstone, and Joseph S. Shapiro (2016). “Adapting to climate change: The remarkable decline in the US temperature-mortality relationship over the twentieth century.” Journal of Political Economy. PDF discussion
  • Marshall Burke, Solomon M. Hsiang, and Edward Miguel (2015). “Global non-linear effect of temperature on economic production.” Nature. PDF
  • Kevin Rennert et al. (2022). “Comprehensive evidence implies a higher social cost of CO2.” Nature. PDF
  • Tamma Carleton and Michael Greenstone (2022). “A guide to updating the US government's social cost of carbon.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy. PDF
  • Robert S. Pindyck (2013). “Climate change policy: What do the models tell us?” Journal of Economic Literature. PDF
  • Wolfram Schlenker and Michael J. Roberts (2009). “Nonlinear temperature effects indicate severe damages to US crop yields under climate change.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. PDF
Week 12Nov 9–Nov 11

21Topics: Conservation

readings
  • Eyal Frank and Anant Sudarshan (2024). “The social costs of keystone species collapse: Evidence from the decline of vultures in India.” American Economic Review. PDF discussion

abstract 5 – due Sun Nov 8 Rapid-fire pitches in class.

22Topics: Domestic climate policy

readings
  • Hunt Allcott, Reigner Kane, Maximilian S. Maydanchik, Joseph S. Shapiro, and Felix Tintelnot (2024). “The effects of Buy American: Electric vehicles and the Inflation Reduction Act.” NBER Working Paper 33032. PDF link discussion
  • John Bistline, Kimberly A. Clausing, Neil R. Mehrotra, James H. Stock, and Catherine Wolfram (2025). “Climate policy reform options in 2025.” Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy. PDF
Week 13Nov 16–Nov 18

23Final proposal pitches

Five-minute pitches on the idea each student will develop, followed by discussion. No lecture material.

24Topics: Forecasts

readings
  • Renato Molina and Ivan Rudik (2024). “The social value of hurricane forecasts.” NBER Working Paper 32548. PDF link discussion
Week 14Nov 23–Nov 25

25Flex day

Reading TBD.

Thanksgiving break – no class

Week 15Nov 30–Dec 2

26Proposal presentations

No assigned reading.

27Proposal presentations

No assigned reading.

Week 16Dec 7

28Proposal presentations

No assigned reading.