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51 Stan. L. Rev. 683 (1998-1999)
Availability Cascades and Risk Regulation

handle is hein.journals/stflr51 and id is 695 raw text is: Availability Cascades and Risk Regulation Timur Kuran* and Cass R. Sunstein** An availability cascade is a self-reinforcing process of collective belief formation by which an expressed perception triggers a chain reaction that gives the perception increasing plausibility through its rising availability in public discourse. The driving mechanism involves a combination of informational and reputational motives: Individuals endorse the perception partly by learning from the apparent beliefs of others and partly by distorting their public re- sponses in the interest of maintaining social acceptance. Availability entrepre- neurs-activists who manipulate the content of public discourse-strive to trig- ger availability cascades likely to advance their agendas. Their availability campaigns may yield social benefits, but sometimes they bring harm, which suggests a need for safeguards. Focusing on the role of mass pressures in the regulation of risks associated with production, consumption, and the environ- ment, Professors Timur Kuran and Cass R. Sunstein analyze availability cas- cades and suggest reforms to alleviate their potential hazards. Their proposals include new governmental structures designed to give civil servants better in- sulation against mass demands for regulatory change and an easily accessible scientific database to reduce people's dependence on popular (mis)perceptions. * Professor of Economics and King Faisal Professor of Islamic Thought and Culture, Univer- sity of Southern California. ** Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor, Law School and Department of Political Science, University of Chicago. We are grateful to Bruce Ackerman, Nicholas Argyres, Ian Ayres, Mary Anne Case, Tyler Cowen, Richard Epstein, Jack Goldsmith, David Hirshleifer, Saul Levmore, Jane Mansbridge, Bentley Macleod, Vai-Lam Mui, Martha Nussbaum, Linwood Pendleton, Eric Posner, Richard Posner, and Roberta Romano for helpful comments, and to Julie Hupton, Tolga K6ker, Brian Leh- man, and Margaret Peterlin for research assistance. We also received valuable help from partici- pants in legal theory workshops at the Washington University School of Law and Yale Law School, and at economics workshops at George Mason University and the University of Southern Califor- nia.

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