The Political Economy of Climate Change

Research Article Workshop

1 Details

Instructor: Bogdan Popescu
Program Duration: 12 Weeks (9 mentor meetings)
Structure: Nine one-on-one, remote weekly sessions for 1 hour

2 Course Description

This course is an intensive, hands-on introduction to writing a research article in the social sciences, with a focus on political science, sociology, or economics. By the end of the course, students will have developed and refined a complete research paper through a series of iterative assignments and structured feedback. The course integrates methodological training, substantive readings, and practical writing skills. Course content is divided into weekly units covering both technical skills and theoretical content. This course is demanding, but it’s designed to give you the tools to write your first publishable article. I am here to guide you every step of the way.

This course explores the political economy of climate change through prominent research in political science and economics. It begins with historical analyses of climate shocks and their long-term economic impacts, then examines international cooperation and the global governance of climate agreements. Students also investigate how domestic politics and firm coalitions shape climate regulation, as well as how public opinion, migration, and climate finance interact with governance and inequality. The course incorporates hands-on empirical replication using difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity designs to understand causal inference in climate-related studies. Finally, it guides students toward writing a full empirical research paper on the causes, consequences, or governance of climate change.

Assessment will be based on the progressive development of a research project, including submission of a research question, proposal, outline, draft, and final paper, as well as in-class presentations. No prior experience with coding or statistics is required, but students should be ready to engage with challenging material in a supportive, step-by-step environment.

3 Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course the students will be able to:

  • Develop a research question and transform it into a publishable paper.
  • Master essential academic tools including reference managers (e.g., JabRef), markdown-based word processing, and professional presentation software.
  • Write each section of a paper: abstract, introduction, argument, methods, literature review, findings, discussion, and conclusion.
  • Conduct basic quantitative analysis in R, including data merging, regression modeling, and visualization.
  • Understand and apply core methods in social science research, including qualitative methods, difference-in-differences (DiD), and regression discontinuity design (RDD).
  • Create a personal academic website using GitHub Pages to showcase their work.

4 Weekly Presentations

Each student will deliver a 15-minute presentation on a topic assigned in advance. Presentations should include a clear introduction, main points, and conclusion. Use visual aids (e.g., slides) effectively, ensuring text is legible and visuals are relevant. Practice beforehand to stay within the time limit and maintain a confident, professional tone. Be prepared to answer 2-3 questions from peers or the instructor during and after the presentation. Remember to cite your sources and avoid reading verbatim from slides or notes.

In addition to summarizing the key arguments or findings, your presentation should include critical analysis of the material. Highlight what the author does not address, the limitations of their research, or potential problems in their analysis or methodology. Think about how the research could be improved, expanded, or connected to broader themes discussed in class, and incorporate these insights into your presentation.

Each week, you will give a short presentation on that week’s reading. You can download the template for the paper presentation at this link.

5 Research Paper

The research paper should provide an extensive background on the topic and a clear contribution to the literature. The analysis should include some quantitative analysis to test hypotheses. The statistical part of the research project involves using data (collect and prepare the data to run quantitative analyses and produce graphs) and specialized software (R).

5.1 Research Paper Template

Use the following as a starting point for writing your own research paper:

5.2 Research Paper Examples

This section provides two complete examples of finished research papers and presentations. These are not templates to copy, but illustrations of different research designs. Use them to see how arguments, methods, and findings can be structured and communicated in practice.

Week 1

  • Intro to the Course - 07-24-2025

Homework 1: Research Design and Presentation: Go over:

Homework: Statistics and R Programming: Go over:

Week 2

Climate Change: Historical & Economic Impacts - 08-20-2025

  • Maria Waldinger. 2022. “The Economic Effects of Long-Term Climate Change: Evidence from the Little Ice Age.” Journal of Political Economy 130(9): 2275–2314.

Homework 1: Research Design and Presentation: Go over:

Homework 2: Statistics and R Programming: Go over:

Deadline: Research Question – 08-22-2025

Week 3

Global Climate Governance & International Cooperation - 08-27-2025

  • Robert Falkner. 2016. “The Paris Agreement and the New Logic of International Climate Politics.” International Affairs 92(5): 1107–1125. PDF

Homework 1: Research Design and Presentation: Go over:

Homework 2: Statistics and R Programming: Go over:

Deadline: Research Proposal - 08-29-2025

Week 4

Domestic Politics, Firms, & Climate Coalitions - 09-03-2025

  • Amanda Kennard. 2020. “The Enemy of My Enemy: When Firms Support Climate Change Regulation.” International Organization 74(2): 187–221

Homework 2: Statistics and R Programming: Go over:

Deadline: Research Paper Outline - 09-05-2025

Week 5

Global Climate Governance & International Cooperation - 09-07-2025

  • Maria Waldinger. 2022. “The Economic Effects of Long-Term Climate Change: Evidence from the Little Ice Age.” Journal of Political Economy 130(9): 2275–2314.

Homework 1: Research Design and Presentation: Go over:

Homework 2: Statistics and R Programming: Go over:

Week 6

Public Opinion, Climate Migration, & Finance - 09-17-2025

  • Sarah Bush and Amanda Clayton. 2023. “Facing Change: Gender and Climate Change Attitudes Worldwide.” American Political Science Review 117(2): 591–608.

Homework 1: Research Design and Presentation: Go over:

Deadline: Milestone - 09-19-2025

Week 7

Climate Change and Migration - 09-24-2025

  • Erin Graham and Alexandria Serdaru. 2020. “Power, Control, and the Logic of Substitution in Institutional Design: The Case of International Climate Finance.” International Organization 74(4): 671–706.

Homework: Write:

  • Work on Research Design, Data, Research Methodology

Week 8

Paper Development - 10-01-2025

Homework: Write:

  • Work on Research Design, Data, Research Methodology
  • Finish First Draft

Deadline: Final Paper - 10-03-2025

Week 9

Paper Feedback - 10-08-2025

  • Writing an academic CV and publishing on your personal website
  • CV template:
    • tex file (open the tex file in quarto and compile after updating it with personal details)
    • pdf file

Homework: Write:

  • Revise Paper: Methods
  • Write academic CV and post on website

Week 10

Paper Development - 10-15-2025

Deadline: Revised Final Paper - 10-17-2025