Risk, fear, bird flu and terrorists: A study of risk perceptions and economics

This paper examines the relationship between risk perceptions, affect and the economic consequences of a bio-security threat against the U.S. food system. The main argument is that there exists a link between risk perceptions and economic behavior. The paper raises conjectures through a utility-theoretic economic model and examines these through two separate surveys, the first being a hypothetical agroterrorist attack and the second a hypothetical discovery of ‘bird flu’ in the United States. The results provide strong evidence that risk perception and fear can interact with consumption in an economically significant way.