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Interdisciplinary Seminar on Environmental Issues - Part I (E275)
Course Organization
Time & Location:
Tuesday, 14:15-16:00, Rigot
Instructors:
Professor Urs Luterbacher
Office: Rigot 25
Office hours: Wednesday 15:15 - 16:00 or by appointment
Telephone: 022 908 59 40
Email: luterbac@hei.unige.ch
Dr. Ellen Wiegandt
Office: Rigot 20
Office hours: Tuesday 16:15 - 17:30 or by appointment
Telephone: 022 908 59 37
Email: wiegandt@hei.unige.ch
Teaching Assistant (for logistical issues):
Renato Mariani
Office: Rigot 26
Office hours: Monday 14:15 - 16:00 or by appointment
Telephone: 022 908 59 41
Email: mariani4@hei.unige.ch
Course Description
This seminar addresses general questions about major contemporary environmental issues as well as specific environmental topics that impinge upon international relations. The seminar is explicitly interdisciplinary because it incorporates natural science, economic, sociological/anthropological, political, and legal perspectives. It focuses primarily on international aspects of the environment but also examines the nature of policy and abatement questions at the local and national levels.
Work Schedule and Course Organization
Most readings on the following list are required. Supplemental or optional readings are indicated in the reading list. All others are required. The course is organized as a seminar which means that the professors take primary presentation for presentation of the topic, but students are expected to participate in discussion based on readings and a discussion leader may be designated. The professors’ presentations will not necessarily be a review or summary of the readings but may well present other aspects of the topic not addressed in the readings. The final examination will draw on material from both class sessions and readings. The final test will include both short answer and essay questions.
Auditing the course is strongly discouraged and must be approved by the instructors. Auditors will be expected to do the same work as those registered for the course. The only difference will be that auditors will not receive a grade or credit.
Course Schedule and Readings
October 24, 2006,
General Introduction to Course: Substance; Organization; Requirements
October 31, 2006,
Substantive Introduction: Overview of Central Questions
- Luterbacher, Urs and Detlef Sprinz (2001) Introduction. In Urs Luterbacher and Detlef Sprinz, eds. International Relations and Global Climate Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 1.
- Perman, Roger, Yue Ma, James McGilvray and Michael Common (1999) Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, New York: Longman. Chapter 1: 1-11.
- Taylor, Michael (1987) The Possibility of Cooperation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapter 1.
November 7, 2006,
The Physical System; Guest Lecturer
Professor Martin Beniston
Optional reading:
November 14, 2006,
Managing Environmental Risks and Uncertainties
- Clark, Colin W. (1990) Uncertainty in Economics, in Risk and Uncertainty in Tribal and Peasant Economies, E. Cashdan (ed.), Boulder: Westview Press. Chapter 3: 47-63.
- Stephens, D.W. (1990) Risk and Incomplete Information in Behavioral Ecology, in Risk and Uncertainty in Tribal and Peasant Economies, E. Cashdan (ed.), Boulder: Westview Press, Chapter 2: 19 - 46.
November 21, 2006,
Property Rights Theories and the Tragedy of the Commons Debate
- Hardin, Garrett (1968) The Tragedy of the Commons, Science, 162: 1243-8.
- Stevenson, Glenn (1991) Common Property Economics: A General Theory and Land Use Applications, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
- Tietenberg, Tom (1992) Property Rights, Externalities and Environmental Problems, in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, New York: Harper Collins, Chapter 3.
November 28, 2006,
Efficiency and the Environment
- Coase, R.H. (1960) The Problem of Social Cost, The Journal of Law and Economics 3:1-44. (A seminal article and strongly recommended.)
- Dasgupta, P., and G. Heal. 1979. Economic Theory and Exhaustible Resources. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapts. 2 and 3.
- Demsetz, Harold. 1967. Toward a Theory of Property Rights. American Economic Review 57, 2: 347-359.
December 5, 2006
Exhaustible, Renewable and Sustainable Resources
- Lambelet, Jean-Christian (1995) A Note on the Issue of Exhaustible Resources. IUHEI note, 16 pp.
- Schelling, Thomas, (1994) Intergenerational Discounting. In Integrative Assessment of Mitigation, Impacts, and Adaptation, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, William Nordhaus, Richard Richels, and Ferenc Toth (eds.), Laxenburg, Austria: IASSA: 475-483.
- Solow, Robert, Sustainability: An Economist's Perspective, The 18th J. Seward Johnson Lecture. Woods Hole, MA: Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
December 12, 2006,
Population and Migration
- Cleaver, Kevin M. and A. Schreiber Götz, (1994) Introduction in Reversing the Spiral: The Population, Agriculture and Environment Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa, Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, pp. 1-15.
- Harris, John and Michael Todaro (1970) Migration, Unemployment and Development: A Two-Sector Analysis, The American Economic Review: 3-27.
- Lestaeghe, Ron (1986) On the Adaptation of Sub-Saharan Systems of Reproduction. In The State of Population Theory, David Coleman and Roger Schofield (eds.), Oxford: Basil Blackwell: 212-239.
- Simon, Julian (1986) Theory of Population and Economic Growth, Oxford: Basil Blackwell: 1-41.
- Zollberg, Aristide (1981) International Migrations in Political Perspective, In Global Trends in Migration: Theory and Research on International Population Movements, Mary Kritz, Charles Keely and Silvano Tomasi, (eds). New York: Center for Migration Studies: 3-27.
December 19, 2006,
Trade and Environment: Production and Processing Methods
- Marceau, G. (1999), A Call for Coherence in International Law .Praises for the Prohibition Against "Clinical Isolation" in WTO Dispute Settlement, Journal of World Trade, October, especially pages 89_106.
- Charnovitz, S. (2000), Solving the PPM Puzzle, PSIO Occasional Paper: WTO Series Number 05.
Christmas vacation, December 23, 2006 to January 8, 2007
January 9, 2007,
Trade, the Global Environment, and North-South Issues
- Anderson, Kym and Richard Blackhurst (1992) The Greening of World Trade Issues, New York, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf; 3-18, 73-89, 221-240.
- Chichilnisky, Graciela (1994) North-South Trade and the Global Environment. American Economic Review 84 (4): 851-874
January 16, 2007,
International Cooperation and Conflict
- Luterbacher, Urs (1994) International Cooperation: The Problem of the Commons and the Special Case of the Antarctic Region, Synthese 100: 413-440.
- Homer-Dixon, Thomas (1994) Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict: Evidence from Cases, International Security 19, 1: 5-40.
January 23, 2007,
International Environmental Negotiations
- Bodansky, Daniel (2001) The History of the Global Climate Change Regime. In Urs Luterbacher and Detlef Sprinz, eds. International Relations and Global Climate Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 2.
- Grundig et al. (2001) Modeling Global Climate Negotiations. In Urs Luterbacher and Detlef Sprinz, eds. International Relations and Global Climate Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 8.
- Brown Weiss, Edith and Harold K. Jacobson, eds. (1998) Engaging Countries, Strengthening Compliance with International Environmental Accords, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, Chapter 1.
January 30, 2007,
The Kyoto Protocol
- Grubb, Michael (with Christian Vrolijk and Duncan Brack) (1999) The Kyoto Protoco: A Guide and Assessment, London: The Royal Insitute of International Affairs, Chapters 4 and 7.
- Wiegandt, Ellen (2001) Climate Change, Equity, and International Negotiations. In Urs Luterbacher and Detlef Sprinz, eds. International Relations and Global Climate Change, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 7.
February 6, 2007,
Exam
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