Energy and Environmental Markets

MBA212

Spring 2012

Temporary Preliminary Website (this website will move and change in January 2012)


Professor Severin Borenstein

Class Time/Place: W 6-9:30PM, Haas School Room F320

Spring 2012 course syllabus is not yet available, but here is the Course Syllabus from last year 

INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS WISHING TO ENROLL IN THE COURSE:

Haas Full-Time MBA students: Enroll through the usual Haas bidding process.

Haas EWMBA and BCEMBA students: Please contact me

Non-Haas Graduate students: You can join the waitlist for the course by enrolling through Telebears into ENGIN 290.9. Then come to class during the first week. Students will be selected from the waitlist based on attendance during the first week, degree of preparation for the course, and credible commitment not to drop after it is too late to allow another student to fill the slot.  Questions regarding Telebears registration may be directed to Susan Reneau (sreneau@haas.berkeley.edu) in the Management of Technology program.

Undergraduate students: Undergrads are not allowed to take this course. You might consider taking EEP 147 : Regulation of Industry , Energy, and Environment, taught by Professor Meredith Fowlie in Agricultural & Resource Economics

Auditors: Auditing by graduate students and Haas MBA alumni may be allowed on a space-available basis. 

PREREQUISITES FOR THE COURSE: Microeconomics, MBA201A or its near equivalent. An undergraduate intermediate microeconomics course probably fulfills this requirement, as does a masters-level microeconomics course. An undergraduate introduction to economics is not sufficient.

UNITS OF CREDIT: 3 units

CLASS FORMAT: Classes will be a mixture of lectures and case discussions.

REQUIRED READINGS: The course will use the textbook, Economics of Regulation and Antitrust , 4th edition, by Viscusi, Harrington and Vernon and a packet of readings and case materials.  (We only use a few chapters of the textbook, but those are quite helpful to some students.  This edition has been out for 5 years so there are plenty of used copies floating around.)

NO ELECTRONICS POLICY:   This course will follow the “no electronics” policy that was adopted in the MBA core this year.  Use of  laptop computers, cellphones, ipads, or other electronic devices during class will not be permitted.  If you have a certified medical need to use a laptop in class, please come and talk to me about it.


Links to Readings

Instructions for accessing study.net

Class 1

Council of Economic Advisors, Economic Report of the President, “Chapter 11: Recent Developments in Energy,” 2006.

S. Borenstein, "Cost, Conflict and Climate: U.S. Challenges in the World Oil Market."                             

D. Rotman, “Natural Gas Changes the Energy Map,” MIT Technology Review, November 2009.

J. Griffin and S. Puller, “A Primer on Electricity and the Economics of Deregulation,'' in Electricity Deregulation: Choices and Challenges, Griffin and Puller eds., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005, pp. 1-11.

M Mahoney, “Follow the Flow,” Technology Review, May/June 2010.

Class 2 

S. Borenstein, “Understanding Competitive Pricing and Market Power in Wholesale Electricity Markets,” Electricity Journal, July 2000, pp. 49-57.

 

R. Smith, “Electric Industry Capacity Glut Jolts Investors,” Wall Street Journal, 11/11/03.

 

J. Mouawad, “A Fast-Growing Independent Strikes Gold in Oil Refining,” New York Times, 5/18/05.

 

J. Mouawad, “Oil Refiners See Profits Sink as Consumption Falls,” New York Times, 5/14/08.

Class 3

Borenstein, Bushnell and Lewis, "Market Power in California's Gasoline Market," Center for the Study of Energy Markets Working Paper #132, University of California Energy Institute, May 2004. 

 

Transcript of Reliant Traders during California Electricity Crisis

Class 5

“Going, going, gone! A Survey of Auction Types,” Agorics, Inc.

Class 9

U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, “Derivatives and Risk Management in the Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Electricity Industries,” October 2002, Section 2, pp. 3-14.

Class 17

S. Borenstein, “Time-Varying Retail Electricity Prices: Theory and Practice,” 2005.

Class 18

Borenstein and Bushnell, "Retail Policies and Competition in the Gasoline Industry," Center for the Study of Energy Markets Working Paper #144, University of California Energy Institute, May 2005.

Class 20

National Research Council, Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use, Summary, 2010.

Class 21                        

P. Portney, “Market-Based Approaches to Environmental Policy,” Resources, Summer 2003

Class 22

A.D. Ellerman and P. Joskow, “The European Unions Emissions Trading System in Perspective,” Pew Center on Global Climate Change, May 2008.

Class 27

J. Bushnell, C. Peterman, C.Wolfram, “Local Solutions to Global Problems: Policy Choice and Regulatory Jurisdiction,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper #13472, October 2007.

Class 28

S. Borenstein, “The Market Value and Cost of Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Production,” Center for the Study of Energy Markets Working Paper #176, University of California Energy Institute, January 2008.

 

 

 

 

Last Modified 1/22/11