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On Precautionary Policies

Author

Listed:
  • Pauline Barrieu

    (London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom)

  • Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné

    (HEC Montréal, CIRANO, CIRAIG, Canada and École Polytechnique, Paris, France)

Abstract

In the United States and most industrialized countries, regulatory policies pertaining to food safety, occupational health, and environmental protection are (according to laws and statutes) science based. The complexity of some ecosystems and new technologies, however, makes it increasingly necessary to deal with situations where scientists cannot yet provide a definite picture. In this context, a widely invoked (but debated) rule, known as the Precautionary Principle, says to address potential hazards right away with preventive measures. We develop an intuitive formalization of this rule, which allows us to infer what an appropriate precautionary policy should do. Implications for resource conservation and the regulation of technological risks are then explored.

Suggested Citation

  • Pauline Barrieu & Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné, 2006. "On Precautionary Policies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(8), pages 1145-1154, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:52:y:2006:i:8:p:1145-1154
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1060.0527
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Takao Asano, 2010. "Precautionary Principle and the Optimal Timing of Environmental Policy Under Ambiguity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 47(2), pages 173-196, October.
    3. Jérémy Laurent-Lucchetti & Justin Leroux & Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné, 2011. "Splitting an Uncertain (Natural) Capital," Cahiers de recherche 11-01, HEC Montréal, Institut d'économie appliquée.
    4. Varios Autores, 2016. "Lecturas Sobre Derecho Del Medio Ambiente. Tomo Xvi," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 852, htpr_v3_i.
    5. Jihad C. Elnaboulsi & Wassim Daher & Yiğit Sağlam, 2023. "Environmental taxation, information precision, and information sharing," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 25(2), pages 301-341, April.
    6. Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné & Sandrine Spaeter, 2016. "Incentive Contracts and Downside Risk Sharing," Working Papers of BETA 2016-22, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    7. Xue, Yang-chen & Geng, Xian-hui & Kiprop, Emmanuel & Hong, Miao, 2020. "How Does the Spillover Effect Affect Companies Food Safety Risk Management? New Orientation of Food Safety Management," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304310, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Bochet, Olivier & Laurent-Lucchetti, Jeremy & Leroux, Justin & Sinclair-Desgagné, Bernard, 2019. "Collective risk-taking in the commons," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 277-296.
    9. Cai, Shun & Chen, Xi & Bose, Indranil, 2013. "Exploring the role of IT for environmental sustainability in China: An empirical analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 491-500.
    10. Fidel Gonzalez, 2008. "Precautionary Principle and Robustness for a Stock Pollutant with Multiplicative Risk," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 41(1), pages 25-46, September.
    11. Lorenzo Bastianello & José Heleno Faro & Ana Santos, 2022. "Dynamically consistent objective and subjective rationality," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 74(2), pages 477-504, September.
    12. Iván Darío Gómez Lee, 2016. "La Seguridad Jurídica. Una Teoría Multidisciplinaria Aplicada A Las Instituciones Vol.Ii," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 851, htpr_v3_i.
    13. Vana Tsimopoulou & Matthijs Kok & Johannes Vrijling, 2015. "Economic optimization of flood prevention systems in the Netherlands," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 20(6), pages 891-912, August.
    14. Heyen, Daniel & Goeschl, Timo & Wiesenfarth , Boris, 2015. "Risk Assessment under Ambiguity: Precautionary Learning vs. Research Pessimism," Working Papers 0605, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    15. Randall, Alan, 2009. "We Already Have Risk Management - Do We Really Need the Precautionary Principle?," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 3(1), pages 39-74, August.
    16. Klepper, Gernot & Dovern, Jonas & Rickels, Wilfried & Barben, Daniel & Goeschl, Timo & Harnisch, Sebastian & Heyen, Daniel & Janich, Nina & Maas, Achim & Matzner, Nils & Scheffran, Jürgen & Uther, Ste, 2016. "Herausforderung Climate Engineering: Bewertung neuer Optionen für den Klimaschutz," Kieler Beiträge zur Wirtschaftspolitik 8, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

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