PAPER GUIDELINES

The paper will be modeled on academic style economic research and will be on any well- defined topic (not limited to suggestions below) relating to the course. The paper should reflect in depth application of the theory introduced, be focused, well written and organized, include citations and a list of references in acceptable form, and be paginate.

Main Structure. Your research paper should

1)    Choose and motivate a topic in environmental economics, 1-2 pages (why it is an important topic? what are the related environmental questions? Causes and consequences?).

2)    Describe the related literature, 2-3 pages (what has been done? how did current study answer the question? what are the results and conclusions? limitations?)

3)     Provide a specific relevant case study related to the topic you choose. This could be an associated current (or proposed) solution/policy to an environmental problem (e.g. an environmental policy, a negotiated agreement, a landmark judicial decision…). You will need to

a)    Describe the relevancy of the policy/program and explain how this specific case helps to answer the question.

b)     Explain how you will conduct economic analysis to evaluate the effects and costs of the policy/program. Describe what data and methods you will need and how they will be helpful in your study. Be specific. You should apply the tools of the course and demonstrate a command of key concepts in environmental economics.

c)     Conclude your research paper with a set of possible policy recommendations with respect to your expected results.

Format. The term paper assignment should be less than 8 pages (not including references, endnotes, tables, diagrams, charts, etc.), double spaced, with 1-inch margins and 12-point font.

Make sure that you have cited all sources from which you used data, ideas or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. The assignment and term paper should be in good, formal English. Avoid colloquial abbreviations and contractions (e.g. 4x, can’t, he’d). Be careful in the use of punctuation. Do not use meaningless punctuation marks like slashes (“/”), nor misplace semi-colons, colons, etc. Do not begin a sentence with a numeral or symbol. The paper should have NO cover page. Your paper should be written by yourself specifically for this course.

The reference style is recommended to follow the Chicago Manual of Style's "Author-Date" style. Other styles are also acceptable. I encourage you to use bibliographic software when preparing your reference list.

Topics. Your topic can come from an area of the course that you find particularly interesting. Some areas might include, but certainly are not limited to:

Environmental regulation and competitiveness Environmental subsidies

Environmental valuation Environmental discounting Green accounting Sustainable development

Growth and environment (e.g the Environmental Kuznets Curve) Consumption, poverty and environment

International environmental problems and regulation Global climate change

Trade liberalization and the environment

…

A search on your topic including scientific, professional and governmental references would be helpful for you to explore specific environmental economic questions. You can find your topics and research questions from economic literature search engines (EconLit) for published and working papers. You can also search in academic journals specializing in environmental and resource economics and quasi-academic institutions such as Resources for the Future (RFF) and the research departments at the World Bank, FAO, OECD, EPA, etc., that undertake and publish