Environmental Economics & Policy (Master of Environmental Management) pot

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Jan. 2012

Environmental Economics & Policy
(Master of Environmental Management)

The Environmental Economics and Policy (EEP) program is designed to train decision-makers,
those who offer them expert advice, and those who try to influence policy through the political
process. The program emphasizes the basic methods needed for analyzing how households and
businesses react to existing and proposed environmental and resource policies. The program is
highly analytical and is oriented toward the analysis of contemporary national and international
environmental problems.

Understanding the effects of markets and institutions on people and the environment requires
mastery of three broad areas of knowledge: (1) the basic sciences pertaining to a natural resource
or an environmental phenomenon; (2) the relevant disciplines in the social sciences; and (3) the
quantitative and qualitative tools required for using knowledge from the physical, biological, and
social sciences to arrive at informed decisions.

Social sciences emphasized in the program are political science, economics, and legal analysis.
Relevant political science topics include the study of collective action, interest group behavior,
evolution and operation of local, domestic and international environmental institutions, and the
formulation and implementation of public policy. Economic topics include sustainable
development, the economics of public goods and externalities, public finance, valuation of
nonmarket goods and services, and the intertemporal allocation of natural resources. Legal

analysis emphasizes the allocation of resources as reflected in property rights, environmental
risks as reflected in torts, and regulation by statutory law. Quantitative and analytical tools are
essential components of this program, and include regression analysis, program evaluation, risk
analysis, geospatial analysis, conflict resolution and benefit-cost analysis. Students also learn
professional skills in teamwork and leadership, professional ethics, and oral and written
presentation.

The Environmental Economics and Policy program seeks to provide:

1. A knowledge base with breadth in environmental economics, politics, and law including the
economics of public goods and externalities, the study of interest group behavior, political
institutions, and property rights, and depth in a chosen area of concentration (e.g., environmental
policy analysis, environmental and resource economics, or business and the environment);

2. Quantitative and qualitative skills in applied statistics, survey research, analytical modeling,
and case study methods;

3. Management skills to train decision-makers, those who offer them expert advice, and those
who try to influence policy through the political process, which includes an understanding of the

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basic methods needed for analyzing how households and businesses react to existing and
proposed environmental and resource policies.

4. Oral and written skills to communicate the effects of markets and institutions on people and
the environment include writing policy memos, research reports, and delivering public
presentations.

Elements Common to All MEM Programs:

Prerequisites for admission to the Nicholas School are (1) some previous training in the natural
sciences or the social sciences related to the student’s area of interest, (2) at least one semester of
college calculus; (3) a college statistics course that includes descriptive statistics, probability
distributions, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, correlation, simple linear regression, and
simple ANOVAs.

During the first year of study, students work with a course adviser on course selection and on
determining an area of study for the Master’s Project (MP). By the middle of the second
semester, the student will choose an MP adviser who will work with the student on developing a
Master’s Project, and will continue to consult with the course adviser on courses to be taken
during the second year. Master’s Projects may be either individual or group projects.

In the second year, the student will complete the course requirements and devote time to the
completion of the Master’s Project. The MEM program requires a total of at least 48 credit
hours. A Master’s Project paper and presentation will be made at the end of the second semester
of the second year. The required number of credit hours and MP presentation schedule vary
slightly for the concurrent degree students.

Required courses for all Nicholas School students are:

ENVIRON 802 (302) Program Management (3 credit hours)
ENVIRON 800 (298.98) Professional Communications (.5 credit hours)
ENVIRON 898.xx (398.xx) MP Seminar (1 credit to be awarded at the end of 4 semesters)
ENVIRON 899.xx (399.xx) Master’s Project (4 to 6 credit hours)

Successful completion of two online modules is also a requirement. The modules offer
information on various types of MPs and principles of research design.

Elements Specific to the Environmental Economics & Policy Program:

In addition to the school-wide prerequisites, the Environmental Economics and Policy program
also requires college microeconomics or college introductory economics that is predominantly
microeconomics as a prerequisite.

To assist in course selection and advising, the EEP faculty have developed three tracks that
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reflect particular concentrations. The three tracks are 1) environmental policy analysis, 2)
environmental and resource economics, and 3) business and the environment. All of the tracks
are built on a common core of three required courses in environmental politics, economics and
law. The environmental policy analysis track is for those students who want to emphasize the
development and implementation of environmental policy. Supporting courses for this track
come from the Nicholas School, the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Political Science
Department. The environmental and resource economics track allows students to deepen their
skills in economic analysis of environmental management and policy. Supporting courses for
this track come from the Nicholas School, the Economics Department, and the Sanford School of
Public Policy. The business and environment track is for those who want to specialize in the role
of the private sector in environmental sustainability. Supporting courses come from the Nicholas
School, the Fuqua School of Business, and the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University
of North Carolina. Students may work with their advisors to devise programs which, while
meeting all requirements of one of these tracks, allow specializations in areas including
international environmental policy, coastal zone management, marine policy, water resources
management, and others.

1. Core Courses (9 credit hours)

Students are required to take:

ENVIRON 520 (270) Resource and Environmental Economics (3 credit hours, fall)
ENVIRON 577 (274) Environmental Politics (3 credit hours, spring)
LAW 235 Environmental Law (3 credit hours, fall, Duke Law School)


2. Major Electives (9 credit hours)

Students select major electives according to their program track. This consists of three courses
from their track list, or acceptable substitutes. For each track, at least one of the major electives
should come from a course listed or cross-listed under ENVIRON or ENRGYENV. Depending
the availability of track-specific courses each year in ENVIRON or ENRGYENV, advisors at
their discretion can waive this requirement.

Environmental Policy Analysis Track: ENVIRON 550 (285) Land Use Principles and Policies,
ENVIRON 786A (276) Marine Policy, ENVIRON 775 (298.55) Ocean and Coastal Law and
Policy, ENVIRON 850 (350) Program Evaluation of Environmental Policies, ENVIRON 826
(326) Global Environmental Politics, ENVIRON 563 (263) Economic Analysis and Evaluation
for Public Health and Environment, ENVIRON 868 (368) (crosslisted as LAW 368) Natural
Resources Law, LAW 520 Climate Change and the Law, ENVIRON 855 (355) (crosslisted as
LAW 555) International Environmental Law, LAW 503 Sources of Environmental Law

Environmental and Resource Economics Track: ENVIRON 752 (252) Sustainability and
Renewable Resource Economics, ENVIRON 531 (271) Economic Analysis of Environmental
Policies, ENVIRON 532 (272) Evaluation of Public Expenditures, ENVIRON 850 (350)
Program Evaluation of Environmental Policies, ENVIRON 680 (298.04) Economics of Forest
Resources, ENVIRON 298.88 Environment and Development Economics, ENVIRON 831 (331)

Sustainable Business Strategy, ENVIRON 563 (263) Economic Analysis and Evaluation for

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Public Health and Environment, ECON 601 (205) Microeconomic Theory, PUBPOL 598 (286)
Economic Growth and Development Policy

Business and the Environment Track: MMS 210 (120) Managerial Effectiveness, ENVIRON
831 (331) Sustainable Business Strategy, ENVIRON 631 (298.23) Energy Technology and its
Impacts on the Environment, ENVIRON 635 (298.80) Energy Economics & Policy, ENVIRON
811 (298.114) Sustainable Systems Theory & Drivers, ENVIRON 532 (272) Evaluation of
Public Expenditures, MANAGEMT 328 (Fuqua) - Managing Innovation in a Global
Organization, MANAGEMT 345 (Fuqua) Legal Environment of Business, MANAGEMT 424
(Fuqua) - Human Assets and Organizational Change, MANAGEMT 426 - Social
Entrepreneurship, MANAGEMT 491 (Fuqua) - Advanced Seminar in Social Entrepreneurship,
MANAGEMT 491.03 - Corporate Social Impact Management, MARKETNG 362 (Fuqua) -
Consumer Behavior, MGRECON 301 (Fuqua) - Global Economic Environment of the Firm,
MGRECON 431 (Fuqua) - Competitive Analysis, MGRECON 491 (Fuqua) - Behavioral
Economics, OPERATNS 476 (Fuqua) - Supply Chain Management, ENRGYENV 491 (Fuqua) –
Energy, Markets & Innovation, MBA 831C - Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (UNC),
MBA 833A, Systems Thinking for Sustainable Enterprise (UNC).


3. Tools (8-9 credit hours)

Students must complete at least three courses in quantitative or analytical methods. One course
must be selected from Group A and two from Group B.

(A) ENVIRON 710 (210) Applied Data Analysis for Envir. Sciences (3 credit hours, fall)

(B)
ENVIRON 752 (252) Sust. & Renewable Resource Econ. (3 credit hours, spring)
ENVIRON 764 (264) Applied Differential Equations in Envir. Sci. (3 credit hours, fall)
ENVIRON 531 (271) Economic Analysis of Environmental Policies (3 credit hours, fall)
ENVIRON 532 (272) Evaluation of Public Expenditures (3 credit hours, fall)
ENVIRON 556 (296) Environmental Conflict Resolution (2 credit hours, spring)
ENVIRON 850 (350) Program Evaluation of Environ. Policies (3 credit hours, spring)
ENVIRON 756 (298.67) Participatory Techniques Env. Decisions (2 credit hours,
fall)
ENVIRON 758 (298.87) Applied Qualitative Research Methods (3 credit hours,
spring)
ENVIRON 832 (385) Environmental Decision Analysis (3 credit hours, spring)
ENVIRON 557 (280) Social Science Surveys for Envir. Mgmt. (3 credit hours, spring)
ENVIRON 559 (259) Fundamentals of Geospatial Analysis (4 credit hours, fall)
ENVIRON 852 (352) Spatial Analysis in Ecology (3 credit hours, fall)
PUBPOL 813 (313) Quantitative Evaluation Methods (3 credit hours, spring)
SOCIOL 720 (208) Survey Research Methods (3 credit hours, spring)
SOCIOL 722 (212) Social Statistics I: Linear Models, Path Analy. & Struct. Eq. Sys.
SOCIOL 723 (213) Social Statistics II: Discrete Multivariate Models

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4. Resource Electives (9 credit hours)

Students in Environmental Economics and Policy must also have a solid grounding in the natural
science aspects of managing natural resources. The resource electives consist of 9 credit hours
of courses used to develop skills in another program offered by the school or in another area of
specialization related to the management of natural resources (e.g., water, energy, forest

resources, tropical resources, coastal resources). Students should consult with their advisor as
they select a coherent set of resource electives. They should be carefully selected to complement
the student’s previous undergraduate training in the natural sciences and to make up deficiencies
if necessary.

For most students, it is a good idea to use some combination of core courses, quantitative courses
and electives to acquire one or two “suites” of marketable skills. Among the skill suites that
seem to be most marketable at present are: benefit-cost analysis, application of geospatial
analysis to policy problems, corporate environmental management, and management of
particular types of land resources, such as biodiversity reserves, coastal zones, and wetlands.


Participating Faculty

Faculty members serving as advisors in the EEP program are listed below. Please consult the
Nicholas School home page for a description of their research interests.

Elizabeth Albright 613-8123
Lori Snyder Bennear 613-8083
Lisa Campbell (252) 504-7628
Deborah Gallagher 613-8138
Jay Golden 613-3646
Randall Kramer 613-8072
Lynn Maguire 613-8034
Brian Murray 613-8725
Richard Newell 681-8865
Michael Orbach (252) 504-7606
Subhrendu Pattanayak 613-9306
James Salzman 613-7185
Martin Smith (Program Chair) 613-8028

Jeffrey Vincent 613-8025
Erika Weinthal 613-8080
Andy Yates TBD TBD

Affiliated Faculty
Thomas Holmes U.S. Forest Service, RTP
Carol Mansfield Research Triangle Institute, RTP
Margaret McKean 502 Perkins Library
Evan Mercer U.S. Forest Service, RTP
Alex Pfaff 108 Rubenstein

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Erika Sasser U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RTP
Kathryn Saterson U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RTP
Sally Schauman Professor Emerita, Univ. of Washington
Christopher Timmins 213 Social Sciences
Jonathan Wiener 3016 Law School


Rev. Jan. 2012