Budgetary Decision Making

Abstract

whole, seems to be close to the risk of death from disease, although the risk rate for the population group actually participating may be considerably greater. This suggests the comment, stated as a hypothesis, that acceptable risk is inversely related to the number of people participating in the activity. The article concludes with a number of points emerging from the exploratory study. The indications are that the public is willing to accept voluntary risks some 1,000 times greater than involuntary risks. The statistical rate of death from disease appears to be a psychological measure of the acceptability of other types of risk. The acceptability of risk seems to be roughly proportional to the third power of the benefits (real or imagined). The social acceptance of risk is directly influenced by the awareness of the benefits of the activity. And the application of criteria to atomic power plant safety results in a design-target risk level much lower than the generally accepted risk level for electric power plants. This brief note no more than characterizes the approach. The article deserves careful and close analysis. As an exploration of some of the intricacies of arriving at social cost-social benefit evaluation, it makes an important and stimulating contribution.