BPUB 261 - Risk Analysis and Environmental Management

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Kunreuther. Prerequisite(s): None, but microeconomics helpful. This course is designed to introduce students to the complexities of making decisions about threats to human health and the environment when people's perceptions of risks and their decision-making processes differ from expert views. Recognizing the limitations of individuals in processing information, the course explores the role of techniques such as decision analysis, cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment and risk perception in structuring risk-management decisions. We will also examine policy tools such as risk communication, incentive systems, third party inspection, insurance and regulation in different problem contexts. The problem contexts for studying the interactions between analysis, perceptions, and communication will include risk-induced stigmatization of products (e.g. alar, British beef), places (e.g. Love Canal), and technologies (e.g. nuclear power); the siting of noxious facilities, radon, managing catastrophic risks including those from terrorism. A course project will enable students to apply the concepts discussed in the course to a concrete problem.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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