Application Deadline: 22 February 2018

The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) is organizing a three-week training course on Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from 30 April–18 May 2018. The main objective of the Summer School is to provide economists with the basic skills necessary to teach environmental and natural resource economics and to undertake research in this area. The course is meant for practicing South Asian economists interested in upgrading their knowledge on the linkages between economic development, poverty, and the environment.  The workshop also seeks to enable participants to develop research proposals for later submission to SANDEE.

What can you expect from the Summer School?

The course will cover economic issues underlying sustainable development, externalities and market failure, policy instruments, non-market valuation, poverty-environment interactions, and natural resource use and pollution management. Participants will be exposed to theoretical issues and economic tools and methodologies for analyzing environmental problems in developing countries.

Who will teach the course?

The course will be taught by:

• Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus, Cambridge University
• AK Enamul Haque, Professor, East-West University
• Randall Bluffstone, Professor, Portland State University
• Maximillian Auffhammer, Professor, University of California, Berkley
• Mani Nepal, Programme Coordinator SANDEE and Lead Economist, ICIMOD

Additional guest speakers will be invited depending on the need and availability.

Organization

Mani Nepal (Programme Coordinator SANDEE and Lead Economist, ICIMOD) is the course director and Neesha Pradhan (Programme Associate SANDEE) will administer the course.

Who should attend the course?

The ideal participant has a Masters/PhD in economics and a good understanding of microeconomics, calculus, and basic econometrics. Junior and mid-career faculty and researchers, especially women are encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to university teachers and researchers who have submitted a research proposal to SANDEE on issues related to environment and resource economics. Those who have already had training in environmental and resource economics through other programmes or universities or are likely to go overseas for higher education within the next year, are not eligible.

What are you expected to do during the course?

This is a residential teaching workshop. Therefore, participants are expected to read material before each day of lectures, and participate in individual and group assignments and discussions. Working days on occasion will extend from 9 am to 9 pm or beyond because of assignments.  Participants are required to present an empirical paper and a research concept note during the course. Last year’s Summer School agenda is available here.

Funding

SANDEE will provide a scholarship of $3,500 per participant in terms of course materials, international travel, meals, and stay during the Summer School. All participants are responsible for their local travel, travel insurance, visa fee, and other personal expenses.

Application process

Interested and eligible candidates from South Asian countries should write to the SANDEE secretariat with the following information (not exceeding five pages):

• A one-page cover letter indicating how such a course will be useful in your teaching and research activities, the applicant’s exposure to basic mathematics (e.g., calculus, linear algebra) and computing skills (e.g., spread sheet, statistical software), and the name of the person nominating him/her (if any).
• A three page research concept note (a precursor of a research proposal) on issues related to environmental and resource economics. The concept note should include a discussion of the research problem and its policy relevance, a clear research question(s), a short literature review that discusses at least three key peer reviewed journal articles related to the proposed analytical framework, empirical methods (data requirement, collection, and analysis) and expected outcomes.
• A brief CV (no more than one page) indicating professional responsibilities/activities, (please include current job and institutional details), educational qualifications, (highest degree/institution), age, and two most important research publications, if any.

Please email your application to Neesha Pradhan at neeshap@sandeeonline.org by 22 February 2018. We request you to pass this information to interested colleagues. We are also seeking nominations from colleagues who have been part of SANDEE activities. Approximately 24 participants will be invited to the workshop.

Faculty Profile

Maximilian Auffhammer is the George Pardee Jr. Professor of International Sustainable Development and Associate Dean in the Division of Social Sciences at UC Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. in economics from UC San Diego. His research focuses on environmental and resource economics, energy economics and applied econometrics. He is a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Prof. Auffhammer serves as Co-Editor of the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists and he is the recipient of the 2007 Cozzarelli Prize awarded by the National Academies of Sciences, and the 2007 Sarlo Distinguished Mentoring Award.

Randall Bluffstone is Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for Economics and the Environment at Portland State University. Currently, he is visiting Fulbright Research Professor at Kathmandu University.  Prof. Bluffstone first traveled to Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1980s, and has been engaged in understanding how poor people relate to their environment in developing counties including Ethiopia and Nepal. He received his Masters and PhD from Boston University.

Sir Partha Dasgupta is the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus in Economics at Cambridge University. He has also taught at the London School of Economics and Stanford University. Among many important appointments, Sir Partha has the honor of being the first economist to be elected as a fellow of the Royal Society.  In 2007, he received the John Kenneth Galbraith Award from the American Agricultural Economics Association, and Tylor Prize for environmental achievement in 2016 among others. Prof. Dasgupta is a co-founder of SANDEE, and also an ex-chair of SANDEE’s Management and Advisory Committee.

Enamul Haque is Professor at East-West University, a private university in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Executive Director, Asian Centre for Development. He has a Master’s degree in Economics as well as in Agricultural Economics. He completed his doctoral degree from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada in Natural Resource Economics. Professor Haque has been a SANDEE research advisor for many years.

Mani Nepal is SANDEE Programme Coordinator and Lead Economist at ICIMOD. He manages SANDEE’s research activities, co-ordinates trainings, and provides technical supports to the SANDEE researchers. He is an adjunct professor at Agriculture and Forestry University. Earlier, he worked as associate professor at Tribhuvan University, assistant professor at the University of New Mexico, visiting faculty at Kathmandu University, and held senior economist position at the Department of Finance and Administration, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. He has a MS degree in Policy Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and doctoral degree from the University of New Mexico in Environmental/Development Economics and Applied Econometrics.