Public administration, science, and risk assessment: A case study of the UK bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis
Public administration, science, and risk assessment: A case study of the UK bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00467.x
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发表时间：
2005-07-01
影响因子：
8.3
通讯作者：
Dickson, G
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Beck, M;Asenova, D;Dickson, G
英国爆发的牛海绵状脑病（BSE）被认为是战后英国政府经历的最严重的公共政策危机之一。在物质方面，它导致330万头牛被宰杀，估计经济损失为37亿英镑。在行政方面，危机导致农业、渔业和粮食部解散。本文探讨了机构的背景下，决定有关疯牛病的科学证据。作者认为，政府机构为政府控制科学的集中式系统本质上容易受到专家和利益集团联盟的影响，从而破坏了对公共健康和安全风险的可信评估。特定的社会条件可能会鼓励决策者的风险机会主义行为，这有助于拖延和不作为，直到健康风险的证据变得压倒性。
The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak in the United Kingdom is regarded as one of the worst public policy crises the British government has experienced during the postwar era. In material terms, it has led to the slaughter of 3.3 million cattle and estimated economic losses of 3.7 pound billion. In administrative terms, the crisis brought about the dissolution of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This article examines the institutional context in which decisions about the scientific evidence on BSE were made. The authors argue that a centralized system in which government agencies control science for government is inherently vulnerable to alliances of experts and interest groups that undermine the credible assessment of public health and safety risks. Specific societal conditions may encourage risk-opportunistic behavior among policy makers that is conducive to delays and inaction until such time as the evidence of a health risk becomes overwhelming.