ESP 162 A01-A04 WQ 2026

Instructor:
Mike Springborn (mspringborn@ucdavis.edu) website
Professor, Department of Environmental Science & Policy
Office: 2104 Wickson Hall.  Mailbox: ESP Office 2132 Wickson Hall

Office hours: flexible by appointment--just send me an email or ask after class!

Lecture: Tuesday and Thursday 3:10 - 4:30pm at Olson 6

Lab/discussion:  Wednesday at Teaching and Learning Complex 2216

Teaching Assistants:

Email Lead contact for students with last names

Office hours
Olivia Lees orlees@ucdavis.edu A - G Wednesday 2:30-3:30, Zoom Links to an external site.
Jiaxin Yin jixyin@ucdavis.edu He - Pa Thursday 2-3 pm, Wickson 2133
Wantong Yuan wtyuan@ucdavis.edu Pe - Z Tues. 8:30-9:30am, Wickson 2120J

If you have a concern please contact just your lead TA (or Prof. Springborn) and we will make sure your concern is addressed. When in doubt, start with your lead TA.  (Please avoid CC'ing additional people except when needed.)

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Links:

Midterm: Feb. 12

Final exam: March 16. We're scheduled for 8-10am, but we will actually go from 8:30am-10am. 

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Introduction

Welcome to our class this year on Environmental Policy! I look forward to embarking on the journey of teaching this increasingly important and ever evolving subject to you. The key motivating questions for the study of this subject revolve around: Why do we care about environmental policies? How do we design them? What constitutes as a “good” environmental policy, meanwhile what fails to meet this benchmark? To answer this series of questions, this course will take an economic approach to policy design and assessment.  Most environmental policies involve establishing a goal (e.g. an allowable maximum daily load of pollution in a river) and a method to induce the achievement of that goal (e.g. charges for industrial pollution emission). This course will introduce you to the means which economists have developed to accomplish both steps as efficiently as possible.  

 

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
1)    Demonstrate the applications of microeconomic principles and quantitative evaluation tools to environmental problems
2)    Apply computer-based data analysis tools, such as Microsoft Excel to evaluate various environmental policies
3)    Synthesize and discuss real-world environmental problems learned from the textbook and readings with peers, TAs, and the instructor

 

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

As members of this class, we all have the responsibility to ensure that our classroom is inclusive (welcoming of diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, intersectional identities, and ways of thinking), safe (physically and psychologically), and respectful. In order to model these principles through our interactions, I encourage students to engage authentically with the lecture and discussion materials by asking questions, clarifying any confusions, and reaching out to the TAs and the instructor for additional help. Being respectful of our diverse viewpoints and being willing to listen and to learn from each other are the essential components of our classroom interactions and interactions with the teaching staff. Please refer to the UC Davis Principles of Community (https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/principles-community) for further information.

 

Student Accommodations

UC Davis is committed to providing accommodations for all persons with disabilities. Students who have a learning disability, chronic condition, sensory or physical disability or if English is not your first language and you need special assistance in lecture, reading or writing assignments, please contact the Student Disability Center (54 Cowell Building) https://sdc.ucdavis.edu/ and/or phone: (530) 752-3184. Please complete your registration with the SDC, and then discuss accommodations with the instructor within the first week of the quarter.

Mental health is a priority in ensuring students' academic success and overall well-being. The Red Folder is a particularly useful resource as it points to a number of mental health resources for students; https://mentalhealth.ucdavis.edu/help-others/red-folder.

Additional resources can be found in the 2023-2024 Campus Resource Guide: https://ucdavis.app.box.com/s/3hfpl94pubh73xwjudx4rux1zatkx9bi Links to an external site.

 

Course format and required texts

We have live lectures on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and live weekly discussion section on Wednesday morning. Certain weekly discussion will award attendance and participation credits; this information can be found on the Course Schedule (under "Files" folder). Participation in both lectures and discussions will help ensure your success in achieving the learning objectives of this course. However, if you need to miss any lectures or discussions, please refer to the “Attendance Policy” section later in the syllabus.

Required textbook and readings

  • Keohane and S. Olmstead. Markets and the Environment, Island Press, Washington, D.C., 2nd Edition, 2016.  The UCD library has an electronic version of the K&O textbook.

The lectures will follow chapters of the textbook as outlined in the Course Schedule, which can be found on the “Files” page on Canvas. I encourage students to read the corresponding chapter(s) before the lectures.

  • Various reading assignments in PDF formats will be posted on Canvas in preparation for lectures and discussions. They can be found by in the corresponding lecture's and lab's folder.

 

Assignments and grading

The breakdown of your final grade will be the following:

Participation  (discussions attendance and preparation, in-class exercises)                                    20%
Homework (problem sets and Excel exercises)                                                                                  35%
Midterm                                                                                                                                                 20%
Final exam                                                                                                                                              25%

 

Attendance Policy

Lectures

For-credit in-class participation activities are interspersed throughout the quarter and denoted on the Course Schedule. The purposes of these activities is for the instructor to engage with the students and for the students to actively engage with the materials during lectures. In-class participation credits may not be made up, but can be excused. Please refer to the section later regarding guidelines around excused absences.

Labs

Attendance at labs will be taken as part of your participation grade. Certain in-lab activities will also count towards your participation grade, and they are denoted on the Course Schedule. The purpose of these activities is for the students to apply materials learned from lectures to real-world environmental problems. Lab attendance is important to help foster a collaborative and engaging environment for learning. If students miss a lab, their attendance and activities credit may not be made up, but can be excused. Please refer to the section later regarding guidelines around excused absences.

Guidelines for Excused Absences

We understand that unexpected circumstances happen. However, if you cannot attend a lab or lecture due to medical or professional reasons--for which participation credit is awarded, then notify your lead TA by email by 7:45am on the day of the lab or 15 minutes before the start of lecture, and we will exclude that activity from your participation grade.  Your first lab or lecture absence for medical reasons does not require a written verification from a physician or counselor. But such a note is required if either (1) you've already been excused once for medical reasons or (2) your request for an excused lab or lecture absence is received after 7:45am on the day of the lab or later than 15 minutes prior to the start of lecture.

 

Homework Policy

Homework will consist of four problem sets and one Excel-based numerical exercise to help you apply the microeconomic concepts learned in lectures. There will be approximately one homework assignment every 2 weeks, due on Canvas as a PDF (except for the Excel exercise) at a time specified in the assignment. Problem sets will be 10 points each. We will typically grade two questions in depth for 2.5 points each and award the remaining 5 points based on the completeness of the remaining responses.

Students are encouraged to discuss the homework with each other. However, each student must produce and submit their own original work. Late homework will be accepted up to 24 hours late, but will have a grade penalty of 10%. Homework submitted after 24 hours will not receive credit. Homework extensions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please reach out directly to Prof. Ji to discuss accommodations. Questions and concerns about homework grades should be directed to your lead TA.

 

Exams Policy

Both midterm and final exams are closed-book and in-class exams. They will each be 80 minutes in length. 

No calculator allowed. Please bring writing utensils (pen, pencil, ruler etc.).

 

Academic Integrity

As a UC Davis student, you have agreed to abide by the University's Code of Academic Conduct. All academic work must meet these standards. Questions related to course assignments and the academic honesty policy should be directed to the instructor. UC Davis Academic Senate policy requires instructors to report any suspected plagiarism to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA).

 

A note on homework and exam solutions

We do not post solutions to homework, practice midterms, nor the actual midterm exam on Canvas. However, we allocate time during labs and lectures to conduct review of homework, practice midterms, and the midterm exam. In addition, students can reach out to the instructor and the TAs to work through homework, practice midterm, and midterm exam solutions during office hours. 

 

Recordings:

  • Live lectures are automatically recorded and posted to the Media Gallery.  Discussion/lab is not recorded.