363-0514-00L  Energy Economics and Policy

SemesterSpring Semester 2020
LecturersM. Filippini
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish
CommentIt is recommended for students to have taken a course in introductory microeconomics. If not, they should be familiar with microeconomics as in, for example,"Microeconomics" by Mankiw & Taylor and the appendices 4 and 7 of the book "Microeconomics" by Pindyck & Rubinfeld.



Courses

NumberTitleHoursLecturers
363-0514-00 GEnergy Economics and Policy2 hrs
Thu13:00-15:00ER SA TZ »
13:15-15:00ETF C 1 »
07.05.13:15-17:00ML F 39 »
M. Filippini

Catalogue data

AbstractAn introduction to energy economics and policy that covers the following topics: energy demand, economics of energy efficiency, investments and cost analysis, energy markets (fossil fuels,electricity and renewable energy sources), market failures and behavioral anomalies, market-based and non-market based energy policy instruments and regulation of energy industries.
ObjectiveThe students will develop the understanding of economic principles and tools necessary to analyze energy issues and to formulate energy policy instruments. Emphasis will be put on empirical analysis of energy demand and supply, market failures, behavioral anomalies, energy policy instruments, investments in power plants and in energy efficiency technologies and the reform of the electric power sector.
ContentThe course provides an introduction to energy economics principles and policy applications. The first part of the course will introduce the microeconomic foundation of energy demand and supply as well as market failures and behavioral anomalies. In a second part, we introduce the concept of investment analysis (such as the NPV), in the context of energy efficient investments. In the last part, we use the previously introduced concepts to analyze energy policies: from a government perspective, we discuss the mechanisms and implications of market oriented and non-market oriented policy instruments as well as the regulation of energy industries.

Throughout the entire class, we combine the course material with insights from current research in energy economics. This combination will enable students to understand standard scientific literature in the field of energy economics. Moreover, the class aims to show students how to put real life situations in the energy sector in the context of insights from energy economics.

During the first part of the course a set of environmental and resource economics tools will be given to students through lectures. The applied nature of the course is achieved by discussing several papers in a seminar. To this respect, students are required to work in groups in order to prepare a presentation of a paper.

The evaluation policy is designed to verify the knowledge acquired by students during the course. For this purpose, a short group presentation will be graded. At the end of the course there will be a written exam covering the topics of the course. The final grade is obtained by averaging the presentation (20%) and the final exam (80%).
Prerequisites / NoticeIt is recommended for students to have taken a course in introductory microeconomics. If not, they should be familiar with microeconomics as in, for example, "Microeconomics" by Mankiw & Taylor and the appendices 4 and 7 of the book "Microeconomics" by Pindyck & Rubinfeld.

Performance assessment

Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Performance assessment as a semester course
ECTS credits3 credits
ExaminersM. Filippini
Typegraded semester performance
Language of examinationEnglish
RepetitionRepetition only possible after re-enrolling for the course unit.
Additional information on mode of examinationWritten exam 60 min. Closed-book, a simple, non-programmable calculator without graphics functions and a non-electronic dictionary are allowed.

Learning materials

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Only public learning materials are listed.

Groups

No information on groups available.

Restrictions

There are no additional restrictions for the registration.

Offered in

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