ECO-4209 : Natural resource economics

Accès directs

ECO-4209 : Natural resource economics

Responsable(s) :

Jonathan Goupille-Lebret
Mathieu Couttenier
Elisa Mougin
Alexandre Verlet

Niveau

M1+M2

Discipline

Economie

ECTS

3.00

Période

2e semestre

Département

Département d'Économie

Localisation

Site Descartes

Année

2023

Public externe (ouverts aux auditeurs de cours)

Informations générales sur le cours : ECO-4209

Content objectif

ECO-4209 : Applied economics 5: Natural resource economics

Responsible teacher: Mathieu COUTTENIER (mathieu.couttenier [at] ens-lyon.fr)

Natural resources are at the forefront of the response to local, national and global economic development. The goal of the course is to raise awareness among the students on the impact of natural resources on economic development in both, developed and developing countries. It relies on the literatures in economics and political sciences. After a rigorous treatment of the theory that helps to link natural resources and development, it covers a large array of recent empirical papers on the impact of natural resources on different economics outcomes but also to shed new light on the underlined mechanisms.

The course consists in 4 parts:

Natural resources and economic development: cross-country analysis (macro effects)
1. Case studies and stylized facts
2. Related theory
3. Empirical results on the impact of natural resources on economic growth
4. Role of institutions to mitigate the effect of natural resources on economic growth
Natural resources and economic development: within-country analysis (local effects)
1. Survey of the potential threats/strengths of the presence of natural resources on the local development
2. Empirical evidence for both developed and developing countries of the impact of natural resources on different outcomes: income, local labor market, living standards, fiscal revenues, business environment, gender inequalities, health...
Natural resources and violence
1. Theoretical background
2. Evidence with cross-country analysis
3. Evidence on local violence
Natural resources and institutions
1. Impact of natural resources abundance on the quality of institutions, political change, transition to democracy, corruption and political incentives
2. Impact of institutions on natural resources investment

Content prerequis

There is no formal readings required for the course. But the course builds on applied fields such as courses in the MSc program, in particular, Microeconomics I, Evaluation of Public Policy andEconometrics of Program Evaluation. Knowledge of how to apply economic models in context and how to select and use appropriate tools of analysis is required.

Content modalites

The course consists in 8 different slots (3 hours each). The structure is the following (at the notable exception of the first one):

Lecture: 2h
Student presentations: 1h

During the 1h student presentations, one recent empirical paper will be presented by a student and a second student will present a referee report on the same paper.

For the presentation of the paper, the student must place himself in the position of the author of the paper. The student has to convince the audience on different points:

The relevance of the question
The contribution to the literature
The methods and data used are appropriate to answer the question
The results are well grounded and relevant

Motivation of the question is very important. The presentation of the paper does not need to be structured in the same way as the original paper. No criticisms are expected, it's the task of the referee report. The referee report should start off with a one short paragraph summary of the main argument of the paper. It should proceed with the main criticisms of the paper. Conclude the report with minor comments. Please not that a good referee report not only clearly states the shortcomings of the work, but also lays out constructive, detailed and realistic suggestions for improvement. Presentations (presentation of the paper and presentation of the referee report) are a part of the evaluation (see hereafter).

The course evaluation has three components :

The first component is the presentation of paper (20%). In-class presentation of the paper with slides (20 min).
The second component is a referee report on a recent paper (30%). In-class presentation of the report with slides (20 min). Each referee report should be up to 3 pages single-spaced and submit just before the course.
The third component is a final written exam (50%).

Content renseignements

The course is taught in English.

Content horaires

Créneau(x)

Mercredi Après-midi
Vendredi Après-midi

Horaires du cours

10 JAN : 13h00 - 16h00 (Salle D2-031)
12 JAN : 13h00 - 16h00 (Salle D2-031)
17 JAN : 13h00 - 16h00 (Salle D2-031)
19 JAN : 13h00 - 16h00 (Salle D2-031)
31 JAN : 13h00 - 16h00 (Salle D2-031)
02 FEV : 13h00 - 16h00 (Salle D2-031)
07 FEV : 13h00 - 16h00 (Salle D2-031)
09 FEV : 13h00 - 16h00 (Salle D2-031)

Content bibliographie

No bibliography required

Accès directs

Outils

ECO-4209 : Natural resource economics

Informations générales sur le cours : ECO-4209