Review of: WESLEY A. MAGAT & W. KIP VISCUSI, INFORMATIONAL APPROACHES TO REGULATION. (MIT Press 1992) [274 pp.] Appendices, endnotes, illustrations, index, list of titles in the Regulation of Economic Activity series, list of tables and figures, preface, series foreword. LC 91-29483; ISBN 0-262-13277-X. [$32.50 cloth. 55 Hayward Street; Cambridge MA 02142.

Field, Juanita V.

Field, Thomas G., Jr.

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RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)Volume 4Number 3 RISK: Issues in Health & Safety Article 11June 1993Book ReviewJuanita V. FieldThomas G. Field Jr.Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/riskPart of the Communication Commons, and the Consumer Protection Law CommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the University of New Hampshire – School of Law at University of New HampshireScholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002) by an authorized editor of University ofNew Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact ellen.phillips@law.unh.edu.Repository CitationJuanita V. Field & Thomas G. Field, Jr., Book Review , 4 RISK 271 (1993).Book ReviewErratumThe citation for this review is 4 RISK 263 (1993) in most commercial databases.This book review is available in RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002): https://scholars.unh.edu/risk/vol4/iss3/11Book Reviews 271WESLEY A. MAGAT & W. KIP VISCUSI, INFORMATIONAL AP-PROACHES TO REGULATION. (MIT Press 1992) [274 pp.] Appendices,endnotes, illustrations, index, list of titles in the Regulation of Economic Activityseries, list of tables and figures, preface, series foreword. LC 91-29483; ISBN0-262-13277-X. [$32.50 cloth. 55 Hayward Street; Cambridge MA 02142.]This is the nineteenth in a series. As pointed out in a foreword: 1Economists generally assume that workers andconsumers are supremely competent, unboundedly rationalinformation processors. Accordingly, economists have longargued that if the government has a choice between banninga risky product or activity or providing information..., itshould choose information.... And, for a variety of reasons,during the 1980s the federal government substantiallyincreased its reliance on hazard warnings.As noneconomists might suspect... analysis of theseprograms indicates that individuals' response... depends onexactly what information is provided and how ....The work described in INFORMATIONAL APPROACHES begins toaddress that problem. Indeed, it addresses one broader than indicatedabove - not only can mandated information substitute for productregulation short of bans, but it can also guide consumer choices incircumstances lacking any immediate threat of personal injury.With Joel Huber, who coauthored three (of five) chapters, and JohnW. Payne, who coauthored another, in 188 pages, Magat and Viscusireview the literature and describe original surveys and experiments toevaluate whether information accomplishes its regulatory objectives. 2Three studies are the focus of the volume. One involves health riskspresented by pesticides and chemicals, and a second, warnings aboutcarcinogenic food substances. The last, however, "examines homeenergy audits and addresses the role of the structure of the energyefficiency information presented and its effect on consumer behavior."31 Nancy Rose and Richard Schmalensee, general editors, at xv.2 The remainder comprises appendices that mostly reproduce questionnaires andinformation presented to subjects. However, one contains multivariate results, andanother entitled "Determination of Risk Avoidance Values" is apt to be unfathomable toanyone but economists.3 At 10.4 RISK - Issues in Health & Safety 263 [Summer 19931The authors conclude, not surprisingly, that, while providing hazardinformation is beneficial, different risks require different approaches.More specifically, they caution, e.g., against recipients' being inundatedwith information and urge care in the design of presentations: 4The exact wording of a warning.., cannot be determinedin the abstract. Although enough is known about the effectsof labels to enable a government agency to decide on theappropriateness of a warning message, more preciseknowledge is needed.... Experiments should be carriedout... in much the same way as described earlier in thisbook. It is irresponsible... to mandate a specific warningwithout tests or an experimental foundation to assess thelikely consumer responses.As they acknowledge, contributions from disciplines other thaneconomics are important. 5 Yet, their perspective seems sometimes to beunduly narrow, even judgmental:6In wording, format, and general approach the objective ofinformational policies should not be to have as strong animpact on behavior as possible. The objective should besound decisions, not altered decisions. [Emphasis added.]Normative considerations aside, many would regard good informationas only part of the solution in addressing risky behavior.7Still, Magat and Viscusi have culled an incredible amount ofinformation from their data and are to be commended for identifyingwork that needs to be done and suggesting ways to do it. Most readersof RISK will find INFORMATIONAL APPROACHES to be of great interest.Juanita V. Field & Thomas G. Field, Jr.14 At 178-79.5 Atxvi.6 At 185.7 See, e.g., Galen E. Cole, David R. Holtgrave & Nilka M. Rios, SystematicDevelopment of Trans-Theoretically Based Behavioral Risk Management Programs, 4RISK 67 (1993); or Branden B. Johnson, Advancing Knowledge's Role in Lay RiskPerception, infra at 189.t Respectively, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Plymouth State College, andProfessor of Law, Franklin Pierce Law Center.

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