Theorizing and Generalizing About Risk Assessment and Regulation Through Comparative Nested Analysis of Representative Cases

Authors

Jonathan B. Wiener, Duke Law SchoolFollow
Brendon Swedlow
Denise Kall
Zheng Zhou
James K. Hammitt

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Keywords

risk assessment, empirical research

Abstract

This article provides a framework and offers strategies for theorizing and generalizing about risk assessment and regulation developed in the context of an on-going comparative study of regulatory behavior. Construction of a universe of nearly 3,000 risks and study of a random sample of 100 of these risks allowed us to estimate relative U.S. and European regulatory precaution over a thirty-five-year period. Comparative nested analysis of cases selected from this universe of ecological, health, safety, and other risks or its eighteen categories or ninety-two subcategories of risk sources or causes will allow theory-testing and -building and many further descriptive and causal comparative generalizations.

Citation

Jonathan B. Wiener et al., Theorizing and Generalizing About Risk Assessment and Regulation Through Comparative Nested Analysis of Representative Cases, 31 Law & Policy 236-269 (2009)