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Procedures for aggregating citizen preferences in the context of the nuclear waste management problem. Final report

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5529738· OSTI ID:5529738

The purpose of the present paper is to provide an introduction to the theory of social choice and related disciplines, and to relate this theory to the concrete problem of nuclear waste management. In Section I of this report, an overview of the problem is provided. In Section II, two candidate preference aggregation procedures that can be used to identify a socially optimal waste management policy are identified. In Section III, a somewhat lengthy defense of the use of these two aggregation procedures is presented. Each is shown to be compatible with four intuitively appealing criteria of collective decision-making. In Section IV the application of one of the procedures to the evaluation of waste management alternatives is discussed. In Section V the problem of inferring evaluation parameters from expert and laypersons' judgments is addressed.

Research Organization:
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5529738
Report Number(s):
UCRL-15214
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English