EURO 2025 Leeds
Abstract Submission

665. Incorporating stakeholder preferences in policy evaluation

Invited abstract in session TA-61: Addressing behavioral issues of real-world problems 1, stream Behavioural OR.

Tuesday, 8:30-10:00
Room: Maurice Keyworth G.31

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Milena Wiget
Environmental Social Sciences, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
2. Judit Lienert
Environmental Social Sciences (ESS), Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

Abstract

Agricultural pesticide use is a pressing sustainability issue. National policy solutions must be evaluated against trade-offs, considering various interests and uncertainty. But these evaluations rarely consider stakeholder preferences, particularly risk attitudes. We did so in a case from Switzerland, where national policies to reduce pesticide risks are strongly debated. For policy evaluation, we used participatory multi-criteria decision analysis (multi-attribute value/utility theory), incorporating predictions of policy consequences, uncertainty, and preferences for the uncertain consequences. We interviewed experts for the predictions and considered the preferences of stakeholders representing the entire value spectrum in economy, administration, and civil society. The evaluation results were sensitive to extreme risk attitudes, especially when combined with the weights assigned to the objectives based on principles. Although principles do not consider context-specific attribute ranges and are prone to bias, they are often used in politics. Still, we found one policy mix that performed well despite diverse preferences and high uncertainty. It included risk-based taxes on pesticide use and an adapted approval process. This result contradicted the limited support for the policy instruments among some stakeholders when asked directly. Based on our evaluation, we propose to focus on stakeholder preferences, particularly risk attitudes, when discussing policy solutions.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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