Hardaker, John Brian

Fleming, Euan

Lien, Gudbrand

2009

Public policy-making does not follow the long-established and well-recognised principles of rational decision analysis under risk. Public views of risk are often inconsistent and seemingly irrational, and a gulf exists between risk perceptions and attitudes of the public and those of 'experts'. On the other hand, experts often claim unjustifiably high levels of confidence in their predictions of policy choice outcomes, creating a lack of public faith in their recommendations. While risky policy choices deserve more systematic decision analysis, many challenges remain to effective implementation of such analyses. Among the suggestions for improvement that we offer is the need for more effective interaction between policy-makers, decision analysts and the public.

Australian Journal of Public Administration, 68(3), p. 256-271

1467-8500

0313-6647

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/4373

en

John Wiley & Sons, Inc

How Should Governments Make Risky Policy Decisions?

Journal Article

Publication