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Societal Concerns as Wicked Problems

Societal Concerns as Wicked Problems. Sandra S. Batie Michigan State University. OECD Paris Nov 2009. Societal Concerns. Accepted values of society Appeal to a broad range of people Commodity, non-commodity, or processes and production practices. Societal Concerns. Tame vs. Wicked.

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Societal Concerns as Wicked Problems

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  1. Societal Concerns as Wicked Problems Sandra S. Batie Michigan State University OECD Paris Nov 2009

  2. Societal Concerns • Accepted values of society • Appeal to a broad range of people • Commodity, non-commodity, or processes and production practices

  3. Societal Concerns • Tame vs. Wicked

  4. Outline • What are wicked problems? • What are tame problems? • What policy challenges are posed by wicked problems?

  5. Outline (cont.) • Trade liberalization as a tame versus a wicked problem • Implications for policy development

  6. I. Wicked and Tame Problems

  7. Problems What are they?

  8. Problems • Animal Welfare • Global Climate Change • Biofuel Production • GMO Foods • Sustainable Development • Trade Liberalization

  9. Tame Problems • Identifying the source of food contamination • Cost effectiveness of conservation practices • Costs and benefits of expanding an irrigation project

  10. Wicked Problems • Many interdependencies • Multi-causal • Unintended consequences to solutions • Moving target, unstable • Socially complex • Rarely the responsibility of one organization • Involve changing peoples’ behavior

  11. High Wicked Problems Uncertainty Tame Problems Low Low Value Conflict High

  12. Problems II. Policy Challenges Posed by Wicked Problems

  13. Normal Science and Policy • Normal science has a close relationship with the creation of policy alternatives • Since WWII, normal science has been guided by a linear model

  14. Normal Science • Normal science adds to the details of established theory but does not challenge or test its assumptions • Normal science is what most disciplines do most of the time (i.e., conventional)

  15. Appraised by criteria external to science Basic research Reservoir of knowledge Appraised by criteria internal to science Development Applied research Societal benefits: Economic, environmental, medical, industrial, technological, … Source: Pielke, R.A. Jr., and R. Byerly Jr. 1998.

  16. Normal Science & Policy • Scientific progress leads to social progress • Chicago 1933 World’s Fair Motto “Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms”

  17. Linear Model of Science • Division between researchers and users • Implies that reaching a consensus on science is a prerequisite for a political consensus • “What is” conflates with “what ought to be” • Implies reducing scientific uncertainty reduces political uncertainty

  18. Linear Model Assumptions • More likely to be true when: • Widespread agreement on what is a desirable outcome • Low uncertainty about system component parts and outcomes • That is, when the problem is tame

  19. Example • Developing a vaccine to prevent the spread of a human disease

  20. Normal Science is Not Well-suited for Wicked Problems • Conflict in values over what are desirable outcomes • Uncertainty about system component parts and outcomes • Can not gather facts without first discussing values • Must engage stakeholders

  21. Wicked Problems • Even when dialogue occurs and includes all actors • Clear solutions rarely emerge • Rather, via negotiation, processes are identified which are judged better or worse (not right or wrong)

  22. Society is changing what it is asking of science, the role of science in decision making is quite complex. • Pielke 2007

  23. III. Trade Liberalization as a Tame Problem

  24. Trade Liberalization as a Tame Problem • Economic (normal) science argues for policy “intervention” toward trade liberalization • No uncertainty about the desirability of liberalized trade • No uncertainty about cause and effect • Conclusion = we “ought” to liberalize trade

  25. Trade Liberalization as a Tame Problem • Undesirable outcomes (e.g. social concerns) are market failures • Correct with government “intervention”

  26. Trade Liberalization as a Tame Problem • Does not question the wisdom of trade liberalization • Movements away from trade liberalization that are not market failures are inefficient and to be avoided or banned Inefficiency

  27. GATT and Tame Problems • Early postwar GATT relatively successful • Few players • Dominance and leadership by U.S. • Explicit issues about manufactured goods • Problems more tame, agreement was more likely • Agriculture sector not as successful, more wicked

  28. Of course, if trade liberalization were a still a tame problem today, the Doha rounds would be completed and a success.

  29. IV.Trade Liberalization as a Wicked Problem • Trade does not benefit all • There are winners and losers • Cannot assume that efficiency is a widely shared social goal or that a commonly shared definition of efficiency exists • Wicked problems challenge normal economic science

  30. Trade Liberalization as a Wicked Problem • Social goals do not come from scientific paradigms • Social goals come from deliberative, democratic processes • Social goals are political decisions and not scientific ones

  31. Trade Liberalization as a Wicked Problem • New and many more players with WTO • No consensus about the desirability of trade liberalization proposals

  32. New Social Concerns • New issues, new publics • Animal welfare • Hormone use

  33. New Social Concerns • Regional foods and labels • Treatment of workers • Protection of rural communities • GMOs…

  34. Trade Liberalization as a Wicked Problem • New and many more players with WTO • No consensus about the desirability of trade liberalization proposals • Transaction costs are higher

  35. Costs of Decision Making

  36. GATT/WTO Members and Length of Negotiations

  37. Uncertainty About Causeand Effect • No consensus on the validity of dispute resolution rules • Limited faith in science’s ability to manage risks • Rising concern about sustainability • Ease of communications to form virtual communities of like-minded individuals

  38. “I do not care if GMOs are safe, I do not want to eat them!”

  39. Scientific Risk Assessments • Risk assessments do not incorporate all values • Controversial because they have all the characteristics of a wicked problem • Dispute resolution rulings do not quell the debate

  40. High Wicked Problems Perceived High Risk Problems Uncertainty Tame Problems Perceived Low Risk Problems Low Low Value Conflict High

  41. Debate continues • Conflicts over whose values will prevail • Conflicts over what tradeoffs are worth making • Conflicts over who should bear the costs and who should gain the benefits

  42. Normal Science, Wicked Problems, and Policy • When values are in conflict, experts cannot dictate policy objectives • If they try to do so with wicked problems, the frequent outcome is gridlock and controversy

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