The following texts are referenced as readings on multiple occasions:
[B] = Brealey, R., S. Myers, and F. Allen. Principles of Corporate Finance. 10th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN: 9780077404895.
[G] = Giugni, M., D. McAdam, C. Tilly, eds. How Social Movements Matter. University of Minnesota Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780816629152. [Preview with Google Books]
[M] = MIT Energy Initiative. "The Future of the Electric Grid." MIT Energy Initiative, 2011.
[V] = Viscusi, W. Kip, Joseph E. Harrington, Jr., and John M. Vernon. Economics of Regulation and Antitrust. 4th ed. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262220750.
| LEC # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Systems and Policies: Overview | ||
| 1 | This Course and The U.S. Energy System |
Recommended ReadingsU.S. National Research Council. "Context and Challenges." Chapter 1 in America's Energy Future. National Academies Press, 2009, pp. 1–30. ISBN: 9780309141451.
|
| 2 | Comparative Energy Systems |
Required ReadingsU.S. Energy Information Agency.
Friedman, T. "Our Carbon Copies (Too Many Americans)." Chapter 3 in Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2008, pp. 53–76. ISBN: 9780374166854. Recommended ReadingsUnited Nations. 2008 Energy Balances and Electricity Profiles. United Nations, 2011. ISBN: 9789210613002. |
| 3 | U.S. Energy Problems |
CaseWhy Not Use American Coal Instead of Saudi Oil? (PDF) Required Readings"Environmental Regulation." Chapter 21 in [V]. Recommended ReadingsNational Research Council. "Executive Summary." In Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use. National Academies Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780309146401. Lee, Henry. "Oil Security and the Transportation Sector." In Acting in Time on Energy Policy. Edited by K. S. Gallagher. Brookings, 2009, pp. 56–88. ISBN: 9780815702931. Weimer, D. L. "Cost-Benefit Analysis." In The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Edited by S. N. Durlauf and L. E. Blume. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp. 271–5. ISBN: 9780333786765. Kelman, S. "Cost-Benefit Analysis: An Ethical Critique (with replies)." In Economics of the Environment: Selected Readings. Edited by R. N. Stavins. 5th ed. W. W. Norton & Company, 2005, pp. 260–75. ISBN: 9780393927016. |
| 4 | The Market and The State |
Required ReadingsMason, Alpheus Thomas, and William M. Beaney. "Carter v Carter Coal, 298 U.S. 238 (1936)." In American Constitutional Law: Introductory Essays and Selected Cases. Prentice Hall, 2004, pp. 290–6. ISBN: 9780131174375. Debate Preparation (PDF) (Courtesy of Susan Silbey. Used with permission.) Selected Arguments of Antifederalists (1780s) Friedman, Milton. Capitalism and Freedom. 40th Anniversary ed. University of Chicago Press, 2002, pp. 12–6. ISBN: 9780226264219. [Preview with Google Books] Hayek, Friedrich. The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents—The Definitive Edition. University of Chicago Press, 2007, pp. 71–3. ISBN: 9780226264219. Marx, Karl. The 18th Braumaire of Louis Napoleon. Originally published in 1852. Dodo Press, 2009, p. 15. ISBN: 9781409961666. ———. "Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, 1844" and "German Ideology, 1845–6." In Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy. Edited by T. B. Bottomore and M. Rubel. Reprinted in Watts, 1956. Penguin, 1963, pp. 91–5. Frankfurt Institute for Social Research. Aspects of Sociology. Edited by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno. First published in 1956. Beacon Press, 1973, pp. 38–48. ISBN: 9780807041697. Mills, C. Wright. "The Promise." In The Sociological Imagination. Oxford University Press, 1959, pp. 5–7. Recommended ReadingsHughes, T. P. "London: The Primacy of Politics." Chapter IX in Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930. Johns Hopkins, 1983, pp. 227–60. ISBN: 9780801828737. [Preview with Google Books] |
| 5 | Path Dependence in Energy Systems |
Required ReadingsGawande, A. "Getting There from Here." New Yorker, January 26, 2009. Unruh, G. C. Recommended ReadingsMahoney, J. |
| The Climate Problem | ||
| 6 | Climate Science and Policy |
Required ReadingsNational Research Council. "America's Climate Choices: Report in Brief." National Academies Press (2011). ———. "Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change: Report in Brief." National Academies Press (2010). "Getting Warmer: A Special Report on the Carbon Economy," The Economist, December 3, 2009. "A Deal in Durban," The Economist, December 17, 2011. Recommended ReadingsNational Research Council. "America's Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change: Report in Brief." National Academies Press (2010). Parsons, J., et al. "Designing a U.S. Market for CO2." Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 21 (2009): 79–86. National Research Council. "Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change: Report in Brief." National Academies Press (2010). |
| 7 | Climate Agreement Negotiations I & II |
Required ReadingsWorld Climate: A Computer-Simulation-Based Role-Playing Exercise At the site, you can freely access all of the materials needed to play and facilitate the World Climate simulation, including the models, facilitator guides, the negotiation documents, and other materials. Other simulations, animations, and tools recommended, but not required, can be found at Climate Interactive. |
| Household and Organization Decision-Making | ||
| 8 | Economics of Energy Demand |
Required ReadingsNote on the Economics of Energy Demand, Teaching Note (PDF) McKinsey & Company. "Executive Summary." Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy (2009). Recommended ReadingsSmil, V. Goodwin, P., J. Dargay, et al. "Elasticities of Road Traffic and Fuel Consumption with Respect to Price and Income: A Review." Transport Reviews 24, no. 3 (2004): 275–92. Hausman, J. A., and P. L. Joskow. "Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Appliance Efficiency Standards." American Economic Review 72, no. 2 (1982): 220–5. |
| 9 | Energy Use by Individuals and Households |
Required ReadingsGriskevicius, V., R. Cialdini, et al. "Applying (and Resisting) Peer Influence." MIT Sloan Management Review 49, no. 2 (2008): 84–8. Goldstein, N., R. Cialdini, et al. "A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate Environmental Conservation in Hotels." Journal of Consumer Research 35, no. 3 (2008): 472–82. Recommended ReadingsWeber, Max. "Social Action and Social Relationship." In The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. First published in 1922, translated in 1964. Martino Fine Books, 2012, reprinted pp. 128–43. ISBN: 9781614272571. |
| 10 | Normative Frameworks for Business Decisions |
Required ReadingsFriedman, M. "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits." The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970. Handy, C. "What's a Business For?" Harvard Business Review 80 (2002): 49–56. Pindyck, R., and D. Rubinfeld. Microeconomics. 7th ed. Prentice Hall, 2008, pp. 551–68. ISBN: 9780132080231. Chapter 2 in [B]. |
| 11 | Business Decisions in Reality: CHP at Hexion |
CaseIngersoll, C., D. Mehrotra, and J. Sterman. "Waste Heat Recovery at Hexion." MIT Sloan School of Management (2010). Recommended ReadingsMargonelli, L. "Waste Not." TheAtlantic.com, May 2008. Lindley, D. "The Energy Should Always Work Twice." Nature 458, no. 12 (2009): 138–41. |
| 12 | Organizational Decision-Making: Biodiesel at MIT |
CaseBiodiesel@MIT (PDF) (Courtesy of Susan Silbey. Used with permission.) Required ReadingsCohen, M., J. March, et al. "A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice." Administrative Science Quarterly 17, no. 1 (1972): 1–25. Recommended ReadingsKagan, R., N. Gunningham, et al. "Explaining Corporate Environmental Performance: How Does Regulation Matter?" Law & Society Review 37, no. 1 (2003): 51–90. Sharma, S. "Managerial Interpretations and Organizational Context as Predictors of Corporate Choice of Environmental Policy." Academy of Management Journal 43, no. 4 (2000): 681–97. Loundsbury, M. "Institutional Sources of Practice Variation: Staffing College and University Recycling Programs." Administrative Science Quarterly 45, no. 46 (2001): 29–56. |
| 13 | Developing Profitable Strategies |
CaseRivkin, Jan W. "Husky Injection Molding Systems." Harvard Business School Case. Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 799157-PDF-ENG, May 14, 1999. Husky Case Discussion Questions (PDF) Required ReadingsPorter, Michael. "What is Strategy?" Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1996, 61–78. Chapter 11 in [B]. |
| 14 | Innovation and Energy Business Models |
Required ReadingsChristensen, C. M. "Managing Disruptive Technological Change: A Case Study." Chapter 9 in The Innovator's Dilemma. Harvard Business School Press, 1997. Roberts, E., and W. Liu. "Ally or Acquire? How Technology Leaders Decide." Sloan Management Review 43, no. 1 (2001): 26–34; reprint no. 4312. Recommended ReadingsMunir, K., and N. Phillips. "The Concept of Industry and the Case of Radical Technological Change." The Journal of High Technology Management Research 13, no. 2 (2002): 279–97. |
| Primary Energy & Electric Power | ||
| 15 | Non-Renewable Energy Resources |
Required ReadingsPindyck, R., and D. Rubinfeld. Microeconomics. 7th ed. Prentice Hall, 2008, pp. 573–7. ISBN: 9780132080231. Recommended ReadingsKrautkraemer, J., and M. Toman. "Fundamental Economics of Depletable Energy Supply." Resources for the Future Discussion Paper 03-01 (2003). Tietenberg, T., and L. Lewis. "The Allocation of Depletable and Renewable Resources: An Overview." In Environmental & Natural Resource Economics. 8th ed. Addison-Wesley, 2008, pp. 134–55. ISBN: 9780321485717. |
| 16 | Shale: Opportunities & Challenges |
Required ReadingsPenn Environment. Bipartisan Policy Center Energy Project. "Shale Gas: New Opportunities, New Challenges." Bipartisan Policy Center (2012). Jacoby, H. D., F. M. O'Sullivan, et al. Recommended ReadingsU.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. "Shale Gas Production Subcommittee, 90-Day Report." U.S. Department of Energy (2011). MIT Energy Initiative. "The Future of Natural Gas." MIT Energy Initiative, 2011. |
| 17 | (Yesterday's &) Today's Electric Power System |
Required Readingspp. 1–11 and Appendix A in [M]. "Natural Monopoly Regulation and Electric Power." Chapter 12 in [V]. Recommended ReadingsGriffin, J. M., and S. L. Puller. "Introduction: A Primer on Electricity and the Economics of Deregulation." In Electricity Deregulation: Choices and Challenges (Bush School Series in the Economics of Public Policy). University Of Chicago Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780226308562. [Preview with Google Books] Appendix B in [M]. |
| 18 | Tomorrow's Electric Power System |
Required Readingspp. 11–12 in [M]. Joskow, P. L. Recommended Readings"Smart Grid System Report." U.S. Department of Energy (2009). pp. iii-xii. "Wiser Wires," The Economist, October 8, 2009. Chapter 2–9 in [M]. |
| Public Policies: Determinants & Processes | ||
| 19 | Making Public Policy |
CaseClean Coal/ Dirty Air/ Trading Filth (A) (PDF) (Focus on Questions 1 & 2) Required ReadingsMadison, J. "The Federalist #10." 1787. Lowi, T. "The Public Philosophy: Interest-Group Liberalism." American Political Science Review 61, no. 1 (1967): 5–24. Recommended ReadingsLowi, T. "Four Systems of Policy." Public Administration Review 32, no. 4 (1972): 298–310. Whitt, J. A. Urban Elites and Mass Transportation: The Dialectics of Power. Princeton University Press, 1982, pp. 3–39, 174–210. ISBN: 9780691028262. |
| 20 | Social Movements |
Required ReadingsBurstein, P. "Social Movements and Public Policy." In [G]. pp. 3–21. Useem, B., and M. Zald. "From Pressure Group to Social Movement: Efforts to Promote Use of Nuclear Power." Social Problems 30, no. 2 (1982): 144–56. Recommended ReadingsRucht, D. "The Impact of Environmental Movements in Western Societies." In [G]. pp. 204–24. Cotgrove, S., and A. Duff. "Environmentalism, Middle-Class Radicalism and Politics." Sociological Review 28, no. 2 (1980): 333–51. |
| 21 | U.S. Environment Policy |
CaseClean Coal/ Dirty Air/ Trading Filth (A) (PDF) (Focus on Questions 3 & 4) Required ReadingsWilson, J. Q., ed. "The Politics of Regulation." In The Politics of Regulation. Basic Books, 1982, pp. 357–94. ISBN: 9780465059683. "Environmental Regulation." Chapter 21 in [V]. Recommended ReadingsSandel, M. J. "It's Immoral to Buy the Right to Pollute (with replies)." In Economics of the Environment: Selected Readings. Edited by R. N. Stavins. 5th ed. Norton, 2005, pp. 355–8. ISBN: 9780393927016. |
| 22 | Micron-gap Thermal Photovoltaics; Economic Development & Green Growth |
Required ReadingsOECD. Recommended ReadingsUN Environment Program. "Towards a Green Economy." UNEP (2011). "A Bad Climate for Development," The Economist, September 17, 2009. Hogan, D., M. Kapur, et al. |
| Final Paper Presentations & Debrief | ||
| 23 | Final Paper Presentations & Debrief | No readings |
| 24 | Final Paper Presentations & Debrief (cont.) | No readings |
