Economics of Carbon: Climate Change and Its Impact

1. Goals

This assignment requires you to write a research paper of approximately 3000 words on a topic that explores a key issue in business and society in a changing world. Your paper should examine a problem or controversy that raises normative, policy or governance questions related to one of the three topic areas described in section II below.

1. Suggested Topics

You are expected to select and develop a topic that is related to the themes covered in the Winter term of our course. The questions listed on your second term tutorial assignment can be taken as a useful foundation for developing these topics.
The list of topics below – while not fully exhaustive – should cover most of the themes at a general level. Using course readings and outside research materials you are expected to define and develop the specific issues and direction of your paper under each of the following general topic areas.

1. The Climate Crisis. Discuss the social, economic, ethical and political challenges related to the climate crisis. To what degree will dealing with the climate crisis require new business and policy models? Will there be economic sacrifices, or even economic opportunities, and to what degree will they balance each other out? How can political support for change be achieved?

Readings to look at:
Briefly explain why authors like Kormann and Zenghelis do not see decarbonization as necessarily threatening economic growth.
Green, F., Denniss, R. Cutting with both arms of the scissors: the economic and political case for restrictive supply-side climate policies. Climatic Change 150, 73–87 (2018)
Why do Green and Dennis think that supply-side policy needs to be given a greater emphasis in the fight against climate change? Do you agree?
III. General Guidance
After defining your topic or arriving at the key question that will drive your analysis, you will want to think about how to structure your research essay. As a preliminary guide, we can say that a good research paper in this course should integrate different levels of analysis as follows:

1. Positive Analysis (why and how are things changing?)

Positive analysis explains and analyzes how the world works and, in the context of our course, why and how things are changing. In our course this might involve explaining and analyzing phenomena like rising inequality or the growing influence of certain types of business models and practices. What kinds of issues have these developments raised for our economy, business organizations, political institutions and social relations?  Theories, academic debates, models, data, examples and other research findings from your readings should be used to develop a “positive” analysis (examining what’s happening and why). It is typically useful to evaluate or compare the different ideas or theories of scholars/researchers who have studied the issue you have chosen. Which researchers have given the most persuasive analysis?

1. Critical and/or Normative Analysis (what difference does it make?)

In connection with discussing the debates and different approaches for understanding the issue, you should try to draw conclusions from your analysis and demonstrate its implications. Here you might want to demonstrate how the positive analysis above might provide a foundation of evaluating, comparing, proposing and defending policy solutions, ethical evaluations or political perspectives.

1. Strategic Analysis (how can the need and the pressure to find solutions be addressed?)

Show how your analysis creates a better understanding of the need for change – or the need to defend or extend current approaches – and strategies or policies that might support that. You do not need to portray one approach or strategy as categorically the best, but you should discuss – at least in general terms – the policy options and strategic directions that could be adopted by government or business, or other by other parties. How would any new policy, model or reform overcome the shortcomings of existing or old approaches?

1. Research Requirements

All of the topics outlined in section II above are covered in course readings. Hence, you should use material from those readings in developing your paper. Yet this is a research paper which requires you to rely primarily on outside sources. We will provide guidance on how to find and use materials such as academic journal articles and academic books. You may also use journalistic materials and other sources of information as well, so long as you follow the guideline (explained below) of primarily using academic articles and books.
Do not restate the questions on the instruction sheet as your thesis statement. Restating the question as a thesis statement is NOT an argument. It won’t show the specific direction of your paper nor how you will be developing and justifying the argument advanced. (check the YorkU resource and the paraphrase video on this)
Thesis statements represent the core idea or argument of the paper. I use the analogy of a spoon of lucky charms. One can sample a spoon of lucky charms to know what they’re like. In the same way, a reader gets a general idea of what a particular paper is arguing by reading the thesis statement. A full bowl of lucky charms satisfies a sweet tooth. A full paper satisfies intellectual and scholarly rigor.
When paraphrasing, make sure to reword the meaning of the author’s points faithfully and with integrity. Misrepresenting what an author says not only changes the meaning of the original statement, but it undermines any argument you advance based on that. If two pages of argumentation depend on a misrepresented paraphrase, those arguments are nullified.

2. Full Paper Submission – March 23 [Value: 25% of Final Mark]

Approximate Length:

• 3000 words (typically 10-12 pages) excluding title page and references. Submitted on Turnitin even if you provide hard copy for your instructor.

Format:

• Double spaced, one inch margins, APA style documentation, separate title page.
• Papers should have an introduction, body and conclusion, as outlined in class by your instructors. You may also use subheadings.
• Paper must be paginated.

Required Research:

• You must use a minimum of four outside research sources, which should be scholarly sources such as academic books and journal articles (or the equivalent such as government reports written in a scholarly format). This is in addition to the regular required readings in the course related to your topic, or other sources like web sites, databases, newspapers, high quality magazines such as The Economist, etc..