IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v6y1992i3p211-233.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ecological economics and scientific controversies. Lessons from some recent policy making in the EEC

Author

Listed:
  • Hourcade, Jean-Charles
  • Salles, Jean-Michel
  • Thery, Daniel

Abstract

Contrasting the very limited scientific evidence on the forest dieback issue with the sudden adoption of policies on air pollution decided in the FRG (1983-84) and extended to the European Community (1985). we propose an interpretative framework for the real internalizationl process at work in what was tantamount to a social crisis for public opinion, the media and political actors. We conclude that open scientific controversies on some environmental issues (effects, causes, solutions) pave the way for some actors to use the issue for their own techno-industrial strategies quite alien to ecological constraints. In cases of very high uncertainties on impacts, it becomes impossible to apply conventional social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA) as an optimizing tool. We propose to develop economic analysis as a negotiation language and to give pride of place to the value of learning time and to the crucial role of technological pluralism as a condition for flexibility in the future.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Hourcade, Jean-Charles & Salles, Jean-Michel & Thery, Daniel, 1992. "Ecological economics and scientific controversies. Lessons from some recent policy making in the EEC," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 211-233, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:6:y:1992:i:3:p:211-233
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0921-8009(92)90026-O
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barbier, Edward B., 1990. "Alternative approaches to economic-environmental interactions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 7-26, April.
    2. Valerie Boisvert & Franck-Dominique Vivien, 2005. "The Convention on biological diversity," Post-Print hal-02874455, HAL.
    3. Daniel W. Bromley, 1978. "Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Environmental Economics," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 43-60, March.
    4. Richard C. Bishop, 1982. "Option Value: An Exposition and Extension," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(1), pages 1-15.
    5. Boisvert, Valerie & Vivien, Franck-Dominique, 2005. "The convention on biological diversity: A conventionalist approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 461-472, June.
    6. Ha-Duong, Minh, 1998. "Quasi-option value and climate policy choices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5-6), pages 599-620, December.
    7. Olivier Godard & Jean Michel Salles, 1991. "Entre nature et société, les jeux de l'irréversibilité dans la construction économique et sociale du champ de l'environnement," Post-Print hal-02961801, HAL.
    8. Henry, Claude, 1989. "Investment projects and natural resources: Economic rationality in Janus' role," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 117-135, May.
    9. Perrings, Charles, 1989. "Environmental bonds and environmental research in innovative activities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 95-110, February.
    10. Hourcade, Jean-Charles & Chapuis, Thierry, 1995. "No-regret potentials and technical innovation : A viability approach to integrated assessment of climate policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(4-5), pages 433-445.
    11. Kenneth J. Arrow & Anthony C. Fisher, 1974. "Environmental Preservation, Uncertainty, and Irreversibility," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Chennat Gopalakrishnan (ed.), Classic Papers in Natural Resource Economics, chapter 4, pages 76-84, Palgrave Macmillan.
    12. Claude Henry, 1974. "Investment decisions under uncertainty: The "irreversibility effect"," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/327343, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    13. Lecocq, Franck & Hourcade, Jean-Charles & Ha Duong, Minh, 1998. "Decision making under uncertainty and inertia constraints: sectoral implications of the when flexibility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5-6), pages 539-555, December.
    14. Henry, Claude, 1974. "Investment Decisions Under Uncertainty: The "Irreversibility Effect."," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(6), pages 1006-1012, December.
    15. Costas Azariadis & Roger Guesnerie, 1986. "Sunspots and Cycles," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 53(5), pages 725-737.
    16. de Graaf, H. J. & Musters, C. J. M. & ter Keurs, W. J., 1996. "Sustainable development: looking for new strategies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 205-216, March.
    17. Alan S. Manne & Richard G. Richels, 1990. "C02 Emission Limits: An Economic Cost Analysis for the USA," The Energy Journal, , vol. 11(2), pages 51-75, April.
    18. Courtois, Pierre & Tazdaït, Tarik, 2007. "Games of influence in climate change negotiations: Modelling interactions," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 204(3), pages 301-314.
    19. Costanza, Robert & Perrings, Charles, 1990. "A flexible assurance bonding system for improved environmental management," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 57-75, April.
    20. Barbier, Edward B. & Pearce, David W., 1990. "Thinking economically about climate change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 11-18.
    21. Beckerman, Wilfred, 1972. "Economists, Scientists, and Environmental Catastrophe," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(3), pages 327-344, November.
    22. Douguet, Jean-Marc & O'Connor, Martin, 2003. "Maintaining the integrity of the French terroir: a study of critical natural capital in its cultural context," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2-3), pages 233-254, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Boisvert, Valerie & Vivien, Franck-Dominique, 2005. "The convention on biological diversity: A conventionalist approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 461-472, June.
    2. Susse Georg, 1994. "Regulating the environment: Changing from constraint to gentle coercion," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 11-20.
    3. Douguet, Jean-Marc & O'Connor, Martin, 2003. "Maintaining the integrity of the French terroir: a study of critical natural capital in its cultural context," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2-3), pages 233-254, March.
    4. Olivier Godard, 2005. "The precautionary principle. Between social norms and economic constructs," Working Papers hal-00243008, HAL.
    5. Ha-Duong, Minh, 1998. "Quasi-option value and climate policy choices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5-6), pages 599-620, December.
    6. de Graaf, H. J. & Musters, C. J. M. & ter Keurs, W. J., 1996. "Sustainable development: looking for new strategies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 205-216, March.
    7. Courtois, Pierre & Tazdaït, Tarik, 2007. "Games of influence in climate change negotiations: Modelling interactions," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 204(3), pages 301-314.
    8. Lecocq, Franck & Hourcade, Jean-Charles & Ha Duong, Minh, 1998. "Decision making under uncertainty and inertia constraints: sectoral implications of the when flexibility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5-6), pages 539-555, December.
    9. Valérie Boisvert & Franck-Dominique Vivien., 2005. "Tiers Monde et biodiversité : tristes tropiques ou tropiques d'abondance ? La régulation internationale des ressources génétiques mise en perspective," Revue Tiers Monde, Programme National Persée, vol. 46(181), pages 185-206.
    10. Valérie Boisvert & Franck-Dominique Vivien, 2005. "Tiers Monde et biodiversité : tristes tropiques ou tropiques d'abondance ? La régulation internationale des ressources génétiques mise en perspective," Post-Print hal-04188412, HAL.
    11. Herb Thompson, 1993. "Papua New Guinean rainforests: Problems, solutions and questions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 1(1), pages 64-71.
    12. Remig, Moritz C., 2015. "Unraveling the veil of fuzziness: A thick description of sustainability economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 194-202.
    13. Aggeri, Franck, 1999. "Environmental policies and innovation: A knowledge-based perspective on cooperative approaches," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 699-717, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mort Webster, 2008. "Incorporating Path Dependency into Decision-Analytic Methods: An Application to Global Climate-Change Policy," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 5(2), pages 60-75, June.
    2. Coggins, Jay S. & Ramezani, Cyrus A., 1996. "AN ARBITRAGE-FREE APPROACH TO QUASI-OPTION VALUE; Proceedings of the Fifth Joint Conference on Agriculture, Food, and the Environment, June 17-18, 1996, Padova, Italy," Working Papers 14469, University of Minnesota, Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy.
    3. Peterson, Sonja, 2004. "The contribution of economics to the analysis of climate change and uncertainty: a survey of approaches and findings," Kiel Working Papers 1212, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    4. Coggins, Jay S. & Ramezani, Cyrus A., 1998. "An Arbitrage-Free Approach to Quasi-Option Value," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 103-125, March.
    5. Peterson, Sonja, 2006. "Uncertainty and economic analysis of climate change: a survey of approaches and findings," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 3778, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    6. Katrin Millock, 1999. "Endogenous Monitoring: a New Challenge for the Regulation of Energy Externalities," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 68(4), pages 635-646.
    7. Fisher, Anthony & Hanemann, W., 1986. "Information and the Dynamics of Environmental Protection: The Concept of the Critical Period," CUDARE Working Papers 198351, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    8. LANGE Andreas & TREICH Nicolas, 2007. "Uncertainty, Learning and Ambiguity in Economic Models on Climate Policy: Some Classical Results and New Directions," LERNA Working Papers 07.16.237, LERNA, University of Toulouse.
    9. Attanasi, Giuseppe Marco & Montesano, Aldo, 2010. "Testing Value vs Waiting Value in Environmental Decisions under Uncertainty," TSE Working Papers 10-154, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    10. Edouard Civel & Marc Baudry, 2018. "The Fate of Inventions. What can we learn from Bayesian learning in strategic options model of adoption ?," EconomiX Working Papers 2018-47, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    11. Guillouet, Louise & Martimort, David, 2023. "Acting in the Darkness: Towards some Foundations for the Precautionary Principle," TSE Working Papers 23-1411, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Jul 2024.
    12. Marcello Basili, 2006. "A Rational Decision Rule with Extreme Events," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1721-1728, December.
    13. Sandri, Serena & Schade, Christian & Mußhoff, Oliver & Odening, Martin, 2010. "Holding on for too long? An experimental study on inertia in entrepreneurs' and non-entrepreneurs' disinvestment choices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 30-44, October.
    14. Langholz, Jeffrey A. & Lassoie, James P. & Lee, David & Chapman, Duane, 2000. "Economic considerations of privately owned parks," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 173-183, May.
    15. Meglena Jeleva & Stéphane Rossignol, 2019. "Optimists, Pessimists, and the Precautionary Principle," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 74(1), pages 367-396, September.
    16. Abebayehu Tegene & Keith Wiebe & Betsey Kuhn, 1999. "Irreversible Investment Under Uncertainty: Conservation Easements and the Option to Develop Agricultural Land," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 203-219, May.
    17. Makropoulou, Vasiliki & Dotsis, George & Markellos, Raphael N., 2013. "Environmental policy implications of extreme variations in pollutant stock levels and socioeconomic costs," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 417-428.
    18. Laure Cabantous & Olivier Chanel & Jean-Christophe Vergnaud, 2009. "Transport, Health and Climate Change: Deciding on the Optimal Policy," Economie Internationale, CEPII research center, issue 120, pages 11-36.
    19. Albers, Heidi & Fisher, Anthony & Hanemann, W., 1995. "Valuation and Management of Tropical Forests: Implications of Uncertainty and Irreversibility," CUDARE Working Papers 198641, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    20. Ingham, Alan & Ma, Jie & Ulph, Alistair, 2007. "Climate change, mitigation and adaptation with uncertainty and learning," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 5354-5369, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:6:y:1992:i:3:p:211-233. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.