Sheila Olmstead
Associate Professor of Environmental Economics
Teaching Statement
Economics of Natural Resource Management
F&ES 84002
This course provides an introductory survey, from the perspective of economics, of issues regarding the use and management of natural resources. The course covers both conceptual and methodological topics and applications. The first part of the course is an introduction to the principles of natural resource economics. We develop the basic theory required to understand the economic concept of efficiency, as well as conditions under which markets can and cannot be expected to allocate resources efficiently. Next, we develop an understanding of environmental benefit valuation techniques. The remaining three-quarters of class sessions are devoted to applying these theoretical concepts and methods to questions of managing both nonrenewable resources (oil and minerals) and renewable resources (water, fisheries, forests, and species). This applied portion of the course also includes class sessions on the economics of land-use change, as well as macroeconomic topics like economic growth, sustainability, and green accounting. Important themes in the course include the uses and limits of markets in natural resource management; measurement of the benefits of natural resource amenities like clean water and recreational public lands; economic and environmental implications of poorly defined property rights for resources like fisheries and groundwater; and economic definitions of sustainability.
Economics of Water Quality and Water Scarcity
F&ES 84107
This limited-enrollment seminar is a survey of selected issues in the economics of water resources management. The course is divided into two parts, the first focusing on water quality, and the second on water scarcity. Issues covered in the first part of the course may include: efficiency and cost-effectiveness of U.S. federal water quality regulations, including the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act; methods used by economists to value the benefits of water quality regulation, as well as specific applications of such methods; cost-effective approaches to water quality regulation, including effluent trading; and the current and potential role of economics in wetlands protection policies. In the second part of the course, we discuss issues such as: water allocation and water marketing; urban water demand and pricing; the economics of water conservation; and the trend of privatization of water supply. Specific topics subject to change each year. The seminar format requires substantial student input, and there is a heavy writing component. Class sessions include a mix of discussion of study questions related to assigned readings and/or formal cases, followed by student presentations on relevant topics.
Principles of Microeconomics with Environmental Applications
Economics 117/ EVST 117
This course provides an introduction to the principles of microeconomics, designed primarily for undergraduate non-economics majors with an interest in environmental studies, and for undergraduate environmental studies majors. We cover the basic principles of market supply and demand, including elasticity and the effects of government policies. We arrive at the result that markets are efficient (they maximize social welfare) under certain conditions. A significant number of course meetings focus on “market failures” – cases in which market outcomes cannot be expected to maximize social welfare – including externalities, public goods, common property, and non-competitive markets. During the lectures that focus on applications of basic economic principles, we focus as much as possible on environmental issues, and on the management of natural resources.
F&ES 84002
This course provides an introductory survey, from the perspective of economics, of issues regarding the use and management of natural resources. The course covers both conceptual and methodological topics and applications. The first part of the course is an introduction to the principles of natural resource economics. We develop the basic theory required to understand the economic concept of efficiency, as well as conditions under which markets can and cannot be expected to allocate resources efficiently. Next, we develop an understanding of environmental benefit valuation techniques. The remaining three-quarters of class sessions are devoted to applying these theoretical concepts and methods to questions of managing both nonrenewable resources (oil and minerals) and renewable resources (water, fisheries, forests, and species). This applied portion of the course also includes class sessions on the economics of land-use change, as well as macroeconomic topics like economic growth, sustainability, and green accounting. Important themes in the course include the uses and limits of markets in natural resource management; measurement of the benefits of natural resource amenities like clean water and recreational public lands; economic and environmental implications of poorly defined property rights for resources like fisheries and groundwater; and economic definitions of sustainability.
Economics of Water Quality and Water Scarcity
F&ES 84107
This limited-enrollment seminar is a survey of selected issues in the economics of water resources management. The course is divided into two parts, the first focusing on water quality, and the second on water scarcity. Issues covered in the first part of the course may include: efficiency and cost-effectiveness of U.S. federal water quality regulations, including the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act; methods used by economists to value the benefits of water quality regulation, as well as specific applications of such methods; cost-effective approaches to water quality regulation, including effluent trading; and the current and potential role of economics in wetlands protection policies. In the second part of the course, we discuss issues such as: water allocation and water marketing; urban water demand and pricing; the economics of water conservation; and the trend of privatization of water supply. Specific topics subject to change each year. The seminar format requires substantial student input, and there is a heavy writing component. Class sessions include a mix of discussion of study questions related to assigned readings and/or formal cases, followed by student presentations on relevant topics.
Principles of Microeconomics with Environmental Applications
Economics 117/ EVST 117
This course provides an introduction to the principles of microeconomics, designed primarily for undergraduate non-economics majors with an interest in environmental studies, and for undergraduate environmental studies majors. We cover the basic principles of market supply and demand, including elasticity and the effects of government policies. We arrive at the result that markets are efficient (they maximize social welfare) under certain conditions. A significant number of course meetings focus on “market failures” – cases in which market outcomes cannot be expected to maximize social welfare – including externalities, public goods, common property, and non-competitive markets. During the lectures that focus on applications of basic economic principles, we focus as much as possible on environmental issues, and on the management of natural resources.
