Formalization and Applications of the Precautionary Principle

Claude Henry and Marc Henry

Annals of Economics and Statistics, 2026, issue 161, 7-24

Abstract: A formalization of the Precautionary Principle is given. It relies on a definition of epistemological indeterminacy and scientifically unambiguous events and acts. We give a definition of a non-precautionary social planner as a Savage Expected Utility maximizer who disregards scientifically ambiguous acts, and we show that, for a wide class of preferences for the representative agent, non-precautionary decision making is sub-optimal. A discussion of this formalization is given in the context of national and international debates on Precaution, in the fields of Climate Change, of WTO arbitrages, and of the safety regulations of chemical products.

Keywords: Ambiguity; Objectively Unambiguous Events; Precaution. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D81 K32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Related works:
Working Paper: Formalization and Applications of the Precuationary Principle (2002)
Working Paper: Formalization and applications of the Precautionary Principle (2002)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:adr:anecst:y:2026:i:161:p:7-24

DOI: 10.2307/48866001

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