The disconnect between law and policy analysis: A case study of drivers and cell phones

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hahn, RW; Dudley, PM
• 署名单位: Harvard University
• 刊物名称: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-8368
• 发表日期: 2003
• 页码: 127-185
• 关键词: safety regulation; telephone

摘要

This Article argues that there is often a disconnect between law and policy analysis. We illustrate the point by examining the policy response to the use of cell phones while driving. The disconnect arises largely because the political process is more responsive to the public's perception of risk than scientific risk assessments or economic policy analyses. Consequently, lawmakers are advocating both inefficient and ineffective regulatory options while ignoring important aspects of the problem. If cell phones represented an isolated example, there would be little cause for. concern. Unfortunately, the problem is more general and therefore demands that policymakers consider new institutions for addressing potential biases in decisionmaking. We examine possible explanations for the disconnect between law and policy analysis and suggest some lessons about the design of institutions for addressing complex regulatory issues.