Global and climate change economics
A.A. 2025/2026
Obiettivi formativi
This course provides a compendium to the economists' views on climate change. The course will apply economic and econometric principles to the analysis of climate change problems. Besides applying advanced microeconomics concepts to the analysis of climate policies as in a standard environmental economics course, the course will introduce the basics toolkit of climate modeling and the main econometric issues to estimate climate change impacts on socioeconomic variables. Finally, the international dimension of climate change policies will be analyzed using game theory and in-class games. An active students' participation is required through group presentations and collective discussions around the main debates on climate policies.
Risultati apprendimento attesi
At the end of the course students will get a comprehensive knowledge of the main climate change issues and their policy solutions; will be familiar with pros and cons of different policy instruments; will get acquainted with the main econometric and modelling techniques used in climate change economics; will be up to date with the international climate change negotiation process, political drivers of climate policies and their acceptability. This knowledge will enable student to interpret critically the results of the rapidly expanding body of economic literature assessing the effect of climate change impacts and policies, will expand students' capacity to think in a multi-disciplinary way connecting political, scientific and economic processes on climate change issues; should contribute to form the students' skills to conduct independent research in these areas.
Periodo: Primo semestre
Modalità di valutazione: Esame
Giudizio di valutazione: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Corso singolo
Questo insegnamento non può essere seguito come corso singolo. Puoi trovare gli insegnamenti disponibili consultando il catalogo corsi singoli.
Programma e organizzazione didattica
Edizione unica
Responsabile
Periodo
Primo semestre
Programma
1. The energy challenge: growth vs. pollution
2. The scientific evidence on climate change
3. The big policy debate
4. Impacts of climate change, the damage function and the social cost of carbon
5. Econometric issues on climate change impacts
6. Climate policy analysis, basics
7. Climate policy analysis: multidimensional evaluation of different policies
8. Climate policy analysis: integrated assessment models
9. Climate policy analysis: dealing with uncertainty
10. Competitiveness, innovation and green policies
11. Evaluating the impact of climate policies with te potential outcome framework
12. Systemic view to climate policies: a macroeconomic perspective
13. Why optimal climate policies are not adopted? Distributional impacts and the populistic backlash
14. Why optimal climate policies are not adopted? The international dimension
15. Improving international cooperation on climate change
2. The scientific evidence on climate change
3. The big policy debate
4. Impacts of climate change, the damage function and the social cost of carbon
5. Econometric issues on climate change impacts
6. Climate policy analysis, basics
7. Climate policy analysis: multidimensional evaluation of different policies
8. Climate policy analysis: integrated assessment models
9. Climate policy analysis: dealing with uncertainty
10. Competitiveness, innovation and green policies
11. Evaluating the impact of climate policies with te potential outcome framework
12. Systemic view to climate policies: a macroeconomic perspective
13. Why optimal climate policies are not adopted? Distributional impacts and the populistic backlash
14. Why optimal climate policies are not adopted? The international dimension
15. Improving international cooperation on climate change
Prerequisiti
I prerequisiti del corso sono analisi matematica avanzata, probabilità e statistica (corso di mahematics and probability for economics), econometria di base (corso di econometrics), microeconomia ed economia ambientale (corso microeconomics and environmental economics).
Metodi didattici
Lezioni frontali, lavori di gruppo, piccoli quiz di ripasso, e discussioni in classe su grandi temi.
Materiale di riferimento
Slides of the lectures and various papers and chapters of book listed in the biblio (see course website on ARIEL).
The essential readings are copied here:
· Hsiang, S. and Kopp, R.E., 2018. An economist's guide to climate change science. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(4), pp.3-32.
· IPCC report 2013, synthesis for policymakers.
· IPCC report 2021, synthesis for policymakers.
· Chancel, L., Bothe, P., Voituriez T., 2023. Climate Inequality report 2023, World Inequality Lab.
· Carleton and Hsiang, 2016, Social and Economic Impacts of Climate, Science.
· Hsiang, S., 2016, Climate Econometrics, Annual Review of Resource Economics. (depending on your level skip or not technical details)
· Burke et al., 2015, Nonlinear effects of temperature on economic production, Nature.
· Becker, Gary S., Kevin M. Murphy, and Robert H. Topel. "On the economics of climate policy." The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 10, no. 2 (2011). (depending on your level skip or not technical details)
· Pindyck (2021), 'What We Know and Don't Know about Climate Change, and Implications for Policy', Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, volume 2, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
· Stern, N. and Stiglitz, J.E., 2017. Report of the high-level commission on carbon prices.
· Tol, R.S., 2023. Social cost of carbon estimates have increased over time. Nature climate change, 13(6), pp.532-536.
· Hoffmann, R., Muttarak, R., Peisker, J. and Stanig, P., 2022. Climate change experiences raise environmental concerns and promote Green voting. Nature Climate Change, 12(2), pp.148-155.
· Chapters 9 and 10 of Perman, R., Ma, Y., McGilvray, J. and Common, M., 2003. Natural resource and environmental economics. Pearson Education.
The essential readings are copied here:
· Hsiang, S. and Kopp, R.E., 2018. An economist's guide to climate change science. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(4), pp.3-32.
· IPCC report 2013, synthesis for policymakers.
· IPCC report 2021, synthesis for policymakers.
· Chancel, L., Bothe, P., Voituriez T., 2023. Climate Inequality report 2023, World Inequality Lab.
· Carleton and Hsiang, 2016, Social and Economic Impacts of Climate, Science.
· Hsiang, S., 2016, Climate Econometrics, Annual Review of Resource Economics. (depending on your level skip or not technical details)
· Burke et al., 2015, Nonlinear effects of temperature on economic production, Nature.
· Becker, Gary S., Kevin M. Murphy, and Robert H. Topel. "On the economics of climate policy." The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 10, no. 2 (2011). (depending on your level skip or not technical details)
· Pindyck (2021), 'What We Know and Don't Know about Climate Change, and Implications for Policy', Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, volume 2, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
· Stern, N. and Stiglitz, J.E., 2017. Report of the high-level commission on carbon prices.
· Tol, R.S., 2023. Social cost of carbon estimates have increased over time. Nature climate change, 13(6), pp.532-536.
· Hoffmann, R., Muttarak, R., Peisker, J. and Stanig, P., 2022. Climate change experiences raise environmental concerns and promote Green voting. Nature Climate Change, 12(2), pp.148-155.
· Chapters 9 and 10 of Perman, R., Ma, Y., McGilvray, J. and Common, M., 2003. Natural resource and environmental economics. Pearson Education.
Modalità di verifica dell’apprendimento e criteri di valutazione
Il voto finale è diviso in tre parti: i. un esame scritto (70% del totale); una presentazione di gruppo (30% del totale); iii. un bonus partecipazione tra 0 e 2 punti aggiuntivi.
Se avremo tempo, ci sarà un test/quiz a metà corso. Il test sarà valutato e vi darà un'opzione aggiuntiva per il voto finale che consiste in: 50% esame finale; 20% test; 30% presentazione.
i gruppi saranno composti da 3/4 studenti. Gli studenti non frequentanti saranno valutati solo sull'esame e sono caldamente invitati a studiare volta per volta e contattare il docente regolarmente per chiarimenti e integrazioni.
L'esame finale si sviluppa in tre parti: a. domande vero/falso/perché; b. brevi domande aperte; c. un essay.
Se avremo tempo, ci sarà un test/quiz a metà corso. Il test sarà valutato e vi darà un'opzione aggiuntiva per il voto finale che consiste in: 50% esame finale; 20% test; 30% presentazione.
i gruppi saranno composti da 3/4 studenti. Gli studenti non frequentanti saranno valutati solo sull'esame e sono caldamente invitati a studiare volta per volta e contattare il docente regolarmente per chiarimenti e integrazioni.
L'esame finale si sviluppa in tre parti: a. domande vero/falso/perché; b. brevi domande aperte; c. un essay.
Docente/i