COLLECTIVE DECISIONS INVOLVING RISK: A LITERATURE REVIEW by ROD DOBELL and TED PARSON

This working paper was developed in response to a request for an address on the responsibilities of public servants in dealing with risks to the public. It surveys a portion of the growing literature relevant to collective decisions involving risk. It is intended primarily to provide some helpful introductory background to public servants and students of public administration coming to this topic without substantial expertise. Its purpose is therefore expository, and the style descriptive. This review simply attempts to organize some elements of a large and disparate literature, without developing any one analytical approach or institutional process in detail, and with no pretense of being complete or exhaustive. The address in question, and some further more speculative considerations, are discussed in a companion IRPP working paper titled, “Collective Decisions Involving Risk: Three Essays” (August 1986).