The Politics of Precaution

Regulating Health, Safety, and Environmental Risks in Europe and the United States

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Public Policy, History, European General
Cover of the book The Politics of Precaution by David Vogel, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Vogel ISBN: 9781400842568
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: April 29, 2012
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: David Vogel
ISBN: 9781400842568
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: April 29, 2012
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

The Politics of Precaution examines the politics of consumer and environmental risk regulation in the United States and Europe over the last five decades, explaining why America and Europe have often regulated a wide range of similar risks differently. It finds that between 1960 and 1990, American health, safety, and environmental regulations were more stringent, risk averse, comprehensive, and innovative than those adopted in Europe. But since around 1990, the book shows, global regulatory leadership has shifted to Europe. What explains this striking reversal?

David Vogel takes an in-depth, comparative look at European and American policies toward a range of consumer and environmental risks, including vehicle air pollution, ozone depletion, climate change, beef and milk hormones, genetically modified agriculture, antibiotics in animal feed, pesticides, cosmetic safety, and hazardous substances in electronic products. He traces how concerns over such risks--and pressure on political leaders to do something about them--have risen among the European public but declined among Americans. Vogel explores how policymakers in Europe have grown supportive of more stringent regulations while those in the United States have become sharply polarized along partisan lines. And as European policymakers have grown more willing to regulate risks on precautionary grounds, increasingly skeptical American policymakers have called for higher levels of scientific certainty before imposing additional regulatory controls on business.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Politics of Precaution examines the politics of consumer and environmental risk regulation in the United States and Europe over the last five decades, explaining why America and Europe have often regulated a wide range of similar risks differently. It finds that between 1960 and 1990, American health, safety, and environmental regulations were more stringent, risk averse, comprehensive, and innovative than those adopted in Europe. But since around 1990, the book shows, global regulatory leadership has shifted to Europe. What explains this striking reversal?

David Vogel takes an in-depth, comparative look at European and American policies toward a range of consumer and environmental risks, including vehicle air pollution, ozone depletion, climate change, beef and milk hormones, genetically modified agriculture, antibiotics in animal feed, pesticides, cosmetic safety, and hazardous substances in electronic products. He traces how concerns over such risks--and pressure on political leaders to do something about them--have risen among the European public but declined among Americans. Vogel explores how policymakers in Europe have grown supportive of more stringent regulations while those in the United States have become sharply polarized along partisan lines. And as European policymakers have grown more willing to regulate risks on precautionary grounds, increasingly skeptical American policymakers have called for higher levels of scientific certainty before imposing additional regulatory controls on business.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Explaining the Cosmos by David Vogel
Cover of the book The Therapy of Desire by David Vogel
Cover of the book Everyday Calculus by David Vogel
Cover of the book 1989 by David Vogel
Cover of the book The Jews of Islam by David Vogel
Cover of the book Blow-up Theory for Elliptic PDEs in Riemannian Geometry (MN-45) by David Vogel
Cover of the book Only Yesterday by David Vogel
Cover of the book Physicalism, or Something Near Enough by David Vogel
Cover of the book On the Currency of Egalitarian Justice, and Other Essays in Political Philosophy by David Vogel
Cover of the book The Myth of Digital Democracy by David Vogel
Cover of the book Unlocking the Gates by David Vogel
Cover of the book The Son Also Rises by David Vogel
Cover of the book How Do You Know? by David Vogel
Cover of the book Classical Confucian Political Thought by David Vogel
Cover of the book Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age by David Vogel
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy