Heman Agrawal

Global Political Economy of Risk

25 pages · 6.52 EUR
(November 2003)

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Abstract:

At the national policy-making level, risk assessment and risk communication are already matters of political perception of risk. This paper initially highlights that, choice of the method of risk identification are matters of socio-political perception dependent on the cultural lifestyle and that the choice of the method of dealing with risk is a matter of national political economic judgement which bases its public policy decision on risk assessment and cost and benefit analyses. The paper firstly argues that there is an emergence of ‘global risks’ which are largely lifestyle independent. Thus, devising of risk reduction strategies to deal with such ‘global risks’ – especially the ones underlying socio-economic and environmental policy-making – in a politically responsible manner should largely be through adoption of political frameworks which have an integrated precautionary element and which are necessarily global in their outreach. This shall guarantee a plausible feasibility of global risk containment at the very outset of policy implemented at the respective national levels, in contrast to mostly pointless risk assessment exercises and useless policy impact assessment studies of the aftermath. Above-stated goals and backgrounds are best consequenced for the choice of a conceptual framework like the one of ‘global public goods’. Hence, as the second goal, this paper argues the relevance of the global public goods concept in the special light of the incorporated precautionary approach in it. This shall prove this concepts policy-level soundness by demonstrating the pre-emptive ability manifested in this concept to contain risks posed by ‘negative externalities’ produced in a global ‘risk’ society.