Environmental Policy and Economics
This MIT OpenCourseWare course examines the government's role in regulating the environment and builds tools for weighing the costs and benefits of environmental rules. Topics include whether air and water pollution standards should tighten or loosen, the costs of climate change at home and abroad, whether a regulatory "race to the bottom" exists, what "sustainable development" means, how environmental problems differ in developing countries, and whether natural resources like oil are running out. Materials include lecture notes, readings, and assignments drawn from MIT's economics curriculum. The course includes a planned visit to MIT's cogeneration plant and an in-class simulation of an air pollution emissions market, giving students a hands-on sense of how policy tools work in practice. No enrollment or certificate fee applies since MIT OpenCourseWare materials are published freely under a Creative Commons license.