Seminar: Climate Economics
Lecture number: 801122
Block Seminar: January, 23 (room MZG 9.111) and January, 24 (room OEC 1.168), 2026.
Kickoff Meeting: October, 30, 2025, 4-6 pm, Room OEC 1.164
Application: until
Enrollment in Flexnow:
Essay Submission:
Seminar Info: info
Supervision: Dr. Johannes Schünemann: email and Rocio Castilla email
Course material for participants is available at the course material webpage
Introduction
In this Master seminar in the series "Recent Topics in Macroeconomics" we discuss important recent studies on the economics of climate change. Previous participation in the courses "Growth, Resources and the Environment" and/or "Advanced Economic Growth" is recommended but not essential. Introductory reading for all participants: Nordhaus, W. (2019). Climate change: The ultimate challenge for economics. American Economic Review, 109(6), 1991-2014.
Themes
1. Policies, projections, and the social cost of carbon: Results from the DICE-2023 model
Reference: Reference: Barrage, L., & Nordhaus, W. D. (2023). Policies, Projections, and the Social Cost of Carbon: Results from the DICE-2023 Model (No. w31112). National Bureau of Economic Research.
2. Cumulative carbon emissions and economic policy: in search of general principles
Reference: Dietz, S., and Venmans, F. (2019). Cumulative carbon emissions and economic policy: in search of general principles. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 96, 108-129.
3. Growth and adaptation to climate change in the long run
Reference: Dietz, S., and Lanz, B. (2025). Growth and adaptation to climate change in the long run. European Economic Review, 173, 104982.
4. Climate clubs
References: Nordhaus, W. (2015). Climate clubs: Overcoming free-riding in international climate policy. American Economic Review, 105(4), 1339-1370.
Nordhaus, W. (2021). Dynamic climate clubs: On the effectiveness of incentives in global climate agreements. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(45), e2109988118.
5. The strategic value of carbon tariffs
Reference: Böhringer, C., Carbone, J. C., and Rutherford, T. F. (2016). The strategic value of carbon tariffs. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 8(1), 28-51.
6. The macroeconomic impact of climate change: Global vs. local temperature
Reference: Bilal, A., and Känzig, D. R. (2024). The macroeconomic impact of climate change: Global vs. local temperature (No. w32450). National Bureau of Economic Research.
7. Does pricing carbon mitigate climate change? Firm-level evidence from the European union emissions trading system
Reference: Colmer, J., Martin, R., Muûls, M., and Wagner, U. J. (2025). Does pricing carbon mitigate climate change? firm-level evidence from the european union emissions trading system. Review of Economic Studies, 92(3), 1625-1660.
8. The unequal economic consequences of carbon pricing
Reference: Känzig, D. R. (2023). The unequal economic consequences of carbon pricing (No. w31221). National Bureau of Economic Research.
9. The impact of temperature on productivity and labor supply: Evidence from Indian manufacturing
Reference: Somanathan, E., Somanathan, R., Sudarshan, A., and Tewari, M. (2021). The impact of temperature on productivity and labor supply: Evidence from Indian manufacturing. Journal of Political Economy, 129(6), 1797-1827.
10. Valuing the global mortality consequences of climate change accounting for adaptation costs and benefits
Reference: Carleton, T., Jina, A., Delgado, M., Greenstone, M., Houser, T., Hsiang, S., ... and Zhang, A. T. (2022). Valuing the global mortality consequences of climate change accounting for adaptation costs and benefits. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 137(4), 2037-2105.
11. Does directed innovation mitigate climate damage? Evidence from US agriculture
Reference: Moscona, J., and Sastry, K. A. (2023). Does directed innovation mitigate climate damage? Evidence from US agriculture. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 138(2), 637-701.
12. Climate change, directed innovation, and energy transition: The long-run consequences of the shale gas revolution
Reference: Acemoglu, D., Aghion, P., Barrage, L., and Hémous, D. (2023). Climate change, directed innovation, and energy transition: The long-run consequences of the shale gas revolution (No. w31657). National Bureau of Economic Research.
13. Substitution between clean and dirty energy inputs: A macroeconomic perspective
Reference: Papageorgiou, C., M. Saam, and P. Schulte (2017). Substitution between Clean and Dirty Energy Inputs: A Macroeconomic Perspective. Review of Economics and Statistics 99.2, pp. 281–290.
14. The power of substitution: The great German gas debate in retrospect
Reference: Moll, B., Schularick, M., and Zachmann, G. (2023). The power of substitution: The great German gas debate in retrospect. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2023(2), 395-481.
15. Fighting climate change: International attitudes toward climate policies
References: Dechezleprêtre, A., Fabre, A., Kruse, T., Planterose, B., Sanchez Chico, A., and Stantcheva, S. (2025). Fighting climate change: International attitudes toward climate policies. American Economic Review, 115(4), 1258-1300.