Government Credible Commitment to the French and American Nuclear Power Industries

Backlash against nuclear power, although widespread, affected nuclear power programs differently in the United States than in France owing to their differing institutional setups. This article uses a transaction costs economics approach to examine government credible commitment to the French and Ame...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of policy analysis and management 2001-07, Vol.20 (3), p.433-456
Main Authors: Delmas, Magali, Heiman, Bruce
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antinuclear movements
Credible commitment
Energy industry
Energy policy
France
Government
Government bureaucracy
Government regulation
Industrial regulation
Judicial system
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy policy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power industry
Nuclear power plants
Policy analysis
Political theory
Public Policy
Transaction costs
U.S.A
United States of America
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Summary:Backlash against nuclear power, although widespread, affected nuclear power programs differently in the United States than in France owing to their differing institutional setups. This article uses a transaction costs economics approach to examine government credible commitment to the French and American nuclear power industries. Positive political theory sheds light on the comparative institutional environment in each industry. The American combination of fragmented power, little reliance on bureaucratic expertise, an independent judiciary, and opposing interest groups greatly undermines the ability of the U.S. government to credibly commit to the nuclear power industry. In France, despite substantial anti-nuclear interest groups, the impermeability of the institutional setup--no division of power, weak judiciary, and reliance on bureaucratic expertise--effectively prevents activists from influencing policy outcomes. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
ISSN:0276-8739
1520-6688
DOI:10.1002/pam.1002