The course will focus on the discussion of seminal and recent research papers in the field of environmental economics, with a particular focus on empirical analysis and policy evaluation.

The goal of the course is to provide students of an understanding of the state-of-the-art methods and issues in environmental economics, and preparing them to undertake a Master Thesis or other research projects.

The attendance requirement is met if a student is present at least 80% of the time at class.

At beginning of the course, students will select one of the papers from the course readings’ list to present. In the course of the semester, students will be presenting the paper of their choice and there will be a discussion about its contents, including methodological aspects and policy implications. When no student presentation is scheduled, there will be a presentation on one of the remaining papers from the list from the instructor, following a discussion of the results.

All students are supposed to read in advance the papers scheduled for the class and actively participating to the discussion.

Around the second half of the semester, the students will prepare a research proposal fit for a Master Thesis at WU Wien, and they will present it in class. The proposal will be selected from a list of topics in environmental economics provided to the students at the beginning of the course and will contain information such as research question, motivation, data source, and methodology.

The final grade is composed by the following elements:

Individual paper presentation 30%

Individual written research proposal 45%

Individual presentation of the research proposal 25%

The grade scale is the following (based on total points):

Excellent (1): 90-100 points

Good (2): 80-89 points

Satisfactory (3): 70-79 points

Sufficient (4): 60-69 points

Fail (5): Lower than 60 points

Students are required to be registered and attend the Environmental Economics Field Course as well.

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