Challenges in Integrating Cost-Benefit Analysis with Risk Assessment. R. A. Cantor, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22230
Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is widely regarded as an appropriate tool for judging the merits of public policy initiatives. At the same time, however, there is a great deal of controversy regarding which methods for establishing costs and benefits are most accurate and, more fundamentally, whether CBA is able to capture relevant values and perceptions of risk. The application of CBA to specific policy contexts (e.g., energy, health, or environmental policy) raises an additional set of questions. In the past few years, there have been numerous proposals at the federal, state, and local levels of risk management to integrate CBA and risk assessment data and methods. This panel session will emphasize the recent scientific and policy issues on the merits of CBA that have been debated in this context. Panelists will address a number of significant problems that emerge from attempts to integrate CBA and risk assessment approaches or from attempts to use CBA in particular risk decision domains.