Recent courses
118. The Processes of Environmental Policymaking.
This course focuses on how environmental conversation and natural-resource policies are developed and chosen in the policy processes of the United States and other countries. This focus permits examination of the methodologies of evaluating environmental policy options, the processes of policymaking, and the institutions involved in conservation, environmental improvement, and other policies that affect the environment. The analytic approaches include the policy sciences framework for understanding the process itself, the methodologies of ecosystem valuation, and the issues involved with different types of policy instruments for environmental and conservation management. Also listed as Government 118. Prerequisites: Economics 50 and Government 20. Offered every year.
142. Politics and Economics of Natural Resource Policy in Developing Countries (seminar).
This seminar addresses how resource-dependent countries ought to husband these resources and invest the proceeds productively. It employs the policy sciences framework to explore the political and economic-policy challenges of minimizing the abuse of resource endowments due to mis-pricing, corruption, intra-governmental conflicts, and perverse governance arrangements. It examines the economics of resources and environmental services, why governments abuse natural resources, and what strategies hold promise for better resource use and environmental protection. Cases are drawn predominantly from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Also listed as Government 132e. Prerequisites: Economics 101 and Government 20. Offered every other year.