Economics 499C - Honors Thesis Seminar: 1st Sem

This two-semester Capstone Course offers a multidisciplinary exploration of interactions between people and environment, and the social and political institutions affecting these interactions. The main focus of the course is on the governance of common-pool resources (CPRs). The prevailing theory underlying the analysis of governance of CPRs has long been the ?tragedy of the commons?, which posits that even if it is in the individual interest of each user to protect the resource, the collective outcome of the interaction of self-interested individuals will be overexploitation when no well-defined system of property rights exist. However, later, most scholars forcefully argued that individual property rights are only one type of institutional response and there are many others. The importance of institutional analysis at both micro and macro levels are underlined. Specifically: how do individuals behave within institutions as well as how can they influence these institutions; how do diverse rules affect the capacities of individuals to achieve mutually productive outcomes over time; what are the factors affecting the prospects for successful self-governance of CPRs; how is power manifested in various dimensions affecting the attempts for self-governance or the policy choice and outcomes; why, when and how do people mobilize collectively for protecting their resources. The course will take a multidisciplinary approach to these overarching questions, drawing upon a wide range of social-scientific perspectives. We will be analyzing these questions (and the corollaries) considering both the local and the global commons. Drawing on course readings and lectures as well as films and media coverage, we will analyze various theoretical approaches to the understanding of governance of CPRs and study several cases, exemplifying successes and failures. The task is to learn the capabilities and limits of relevant tools and how best to use a combination of tools to address the wide diversity of puzzles that one comes across. This course will satisfy the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-Econ majors.

Course Title - Society and Environment: Global and Local Perspectives

Course Description: This two-semester Capstone Course offers a multidisciplinary exploration of interactions between people and environment, and the social and political institutions affecting these interactions. In addition to the question of how scarce
resources are allocated among competing ends (for example, a cleaner environment versus more consumer goods), the course explores how natural resources and access to a clean environment are allocated among competing people and communities. Students will be helped to develop capstone thesis projects related to society and environment in diverse fields.

Department consent required. Ceren Soylu csoylu@econs.umass.edu

Preference given to Commonwealth Honors College Juniors and Seniors using this course towards their Capstone Experience requirement.