Theory and Practice in Policy Analysis, Chapter 13: \"Risk\" is another area whe
ID: 1152904 • Letter: T
Question
Theory and Practice in Policy Analysis, Chapter 13:
"Risk" is another area where people don't always seem to act rationally. If we think about "risk to our lives", it would make sense for people to act in ways that reduce that risk as much as possible (or maybe as much as they can afford). But we have observed that people do not actually do this: the same person that is afraid to fly on a plane might zoom around all day on a motorcycle without a helmet. We have learned that there seem to be features of a risk that make it more or less acceptable to people. And this raises more important questions, like whether we ought to be making decisions that reduce actual risks or making decisions that reduce the risks that are most concerning to people.
Answer the questions below:
What do experts and laypeople mean when they talk about risk?
Is one group right and the other one wrong or is this just an issue of communication?
What properties of a risk affect a person's judgment of its magnitude?
Should policy focus on reducing mathematical risk, perceived risk, or some combination of both?
Explanation / Answer
1. Risks always depends on individual preception and it relates to the outcome of a particular event that one might face due to deliberate or indeliberate act of one person or others. To an expert a risk relates to the outcome that is caused by the negligence of the individual like a person risking his/ her life while riding a motorcycle without wearing a helmet. But on the other hand risk to a layman relates to the outcome of his / her phobia. Like for instance if a person has a fear of water then they will perceive that having a swim in the pool is too risky and they might drown. This is the perception of risk when it comes an expert's and laypeople's point of view.
2. Both groups are neither right nor wrong since it is purely the perception. An expert will not be able to think practically since they will only look at things using an intellectual approach whilst common people will always look at things in a very common way as they dont have the ability to think beyond it. It is both an issue of communication and an issue of individual perception.
3. The properties of risk that might affect a person's judgement of magnitude is simply the outcomes of an action due to which an individual loses his/ her life or end up being specially abled person.
4. Policies should always focus on reducing both mathematical risk and perceived risk. For instance during an air travel if there is a mathematical risk for an airplane to fly at a lower altitude then the policy has to be framed in such a way that the air plane never travels at lower altitude thereby reducing or overcoming mathematical risk whilst if an individual has a fear of high altitude then the individual will have to be treated for overcoming the same. Hence policies should focus on reducing both mathematical and perceived risks.
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