STUDENT EVALUATIONS |
TEACHING AND STUDENT EVALUATIONS
Student Evaluation of Teaching 4.25 out of 5 for Global Economy: school-wide core course 4.13 out of 5 for Development Economics: international development core course 4.31 out of 5 for Global Heath Policy: required econ & policy course for university-wide Global Health program 4.21 out of 5 for Global Environmental Policy |
COURSES |
Meets requirements for Public Policy, Mascaro Certificate of Sustainability, Global Health certificate, Global Studies certificate, Area studies certificates, Environmental Program Elective for Environmental Engineering Major.
PIA 2522 Climate Policy Local and Global (masters) The climate emergency threatens human survival and calls for urgent action. In this course, we study efforts to achieve a just transition to renewable energy, cutting greenhouse gas pollution while securing affordable and resilient energy systems and investing in economic diversification of fossil fuel legacy regions. We study various strategies, both their strengths and limitations, to shift investments from fossil fuels to renewable energy (e.g., government procurement, climate disclosure, carbon pricing). We examine strategies used by civil society to push for climate action (e.g., litigation, divestment movements, voter mobilization). We consider the successes and gaps in international cooperation (e.g., developed countries funding of some renewable energy projects but their opposition to paying for mitigation and adaptation costs in developing countries). Finally, we study strategies to expose and combat climate obstructionism. PIA 2502 Environmental Policy: Local and Global (masters) This course explores the ways in which policy can protect people from environmental and health harms, on local and global scales, and the factors that cause such policy to succeed or fail. We discuss a variety of environmental challenges (e.g., stratospheric ozone depletion, e-waste management, plastic pollution, waste exports); attempted solutions with varying success (e.g., the Montreal Protocol and current efforts to draft an international plastics treaty); and the roots of these problems and barriers to solutions. Environmental issues are often borne from governance structures that enable the undervaluation of sustainable practices and their benefits while externalizing pollution costs. We explore how policies can change this, especially by making companies internalize their pollution costs, and how citizens’ oversight of regulatory agencies, including NGO-led litigation, can lead to better policy and protections. Political Economy of Global Energy (masters) This course explores strategies for encouraging resilient, renewable energy and the debates on other energy resources (e.g., nuclear, shale) globally, especially amidst growing climate disasters. In the U.S. context, we also discuss strategies to encourage distributed generation and transmission while ensuring energy affordability for low-income households. For emerging economies, we study strategies to invest in off-grids solutions when appropriate and strategies to reduce investors’ risk perception of renewable energy. Finally, we discuss the arguments for and against decarbonization strategies such as blue hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and small modular nuclear reactors. PIA 2448 Political Economy of Development (masters) This course begins by discussing Amartya Sen’s concept of “development as freedom” and reviewing the trends in poverty, inequality and human development indices in both developed and less developed countries. We examine how various development strategies – investments in human capital, public goods, and responsive governance; corrections to market failures (e.g., externalities, monopolies); and efforts to address structural discrimination (e.g., against Indigenous peoples) – can improve socioeconomic outcomes for individuals and communities. We also examine efforts to reform the international system, including food production, the international trade regime, the international patent regime, which influences innovation and access to medicines; and international Loss and Damage funds to support climate mitigation and adaptation. PA 2553 Political Economy of Global Health (masters) In this course, we examine political economy issues pertaining to global health. We study policy instruments to support the innovation, access, and affordability of medicines and vaccines in developed and developing countries. These include pull mechanisms (e.g., advanced purchase commitments), push mechanisms (government funding for R&D), and public-private partnerships. We explore how WTO TRIP provisions and bilateral agreements between US/EU and developing countries balance innovation with access. We delve into policies to address the public health impacts of industrial agriculture that accelerates antibiotic resistance. We examine how international cooperation has assisted or hindered responses to existing challenges (e.g., AIDs, TB, neglected tropical diseases). Finally, we consider the global health challenges resulting from the climate emergency. Current Issues in Sustainability (masters and upper-level undergraduates) This course examines major challenges that the U.S. and the world faces regarding sustainability (e.g., renewable energy deployment, ecosystem protection, and waste management) through the lens of economics, political economy, law and risk analysis. We discuss the many actors who shape the sustainability landscape, namely (1) government, which sets the “rules of the game” for other actors through regulations and policies, and (2) corporations, which can implement greening strategies or greenwash and spread climate disinformation. We then focus on Southwestern Pennsylvania and the two energy pathways currently confronting it (i.e., more fracking and petrochemicals versus renewable energy and economic diversification). We conclude by focusing on our campus and the debate on divestment of the University’s endowment from fossil fuels. |