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Are Older Nuclear Reactors Less Safe? Evidence from France

Author

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  • Bizet, Romain
  • Bonev, Petyo
  • Lévêque, François

Abstract

This is the first paper to statistically evaluate the relationship between age of a nuclear power plant and nuclear safety. We use a novel dataset that contains over 13000 small incidents in the French fleet between 1997 and 2015. We find that after an initial period of increase, safety eventually decreases with age. This is consistent with the bathtub effect usually measured in the reliability literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Bizet, Romain & Bonev, Petyo & Lévêque, François, 2022. "Are Older Nuclear Reactors Less Safe? Evidence from France," Economics Working Paper Series 2216, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:usg:econwp:2022:16
    as

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    File URL: http://ux-tauri.unisg.ch/RePEc/usg/econwp/EWP-2216.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    environmental policy; nuclear power; nuclear waste; NIMBY; crowding intrinsic motivation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R53 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Public Facility Location Analysis; Public Investment and Capital Stock

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