The economics of food risk communication

With the emergence of major food scares throughout the world and their wide impact on the food sector, there has been a growing focus on the perils of bad risk communication. Scientific research has especially targeted on the psychological and ociological issues surrounding risk communication, but the economics literature also provides a theoretical and empirical basis for understanding consumer response and improving messages. This review aims at linking the various research streams, with an emphasis on the economic foundation. The range of issues is well beyond the gap between subjective and objective risk, and economics can often explain why communication fails to be effective in particular circumstances. A key but underinvestigated area is the communication of uncertainty, where economics can provide a useful background.