A Risk and Cost-Benefit Assessment of
Australian Aviation Security Measures
Authors: Mark G. Stewart and John Mueller
Volume 4, Number 3 (Spring 2008), pp. 45-61.
Abstract
The Australian government Office of Best Practice Regulation has recommended the use of cost-benefit assessment for all proposed federal regulations. An assessment of increased expenditure on the Air Security Officer (ASO), or air marshal, program since 2001 suggests that the annual cost per life saved is greatly in excess of the regulatory safety goal of $1-$10 million per life saved. As such, the ASO program would seem to fail a cost-benefit analysis. In contrast, hardening of cockpit doors has a significantly lower annual cost per life saved, suggesting that this strategy is a cost-effective security measure.
About the Authors
Mark Stewart is a Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Centre for Infrastructure Performance and Reliability at The University of Newcastle, Australia. Professor Stewart has expertise in quantitative risk assessment of built infrastructure and other systems when exposed to a range of man-made and natural hazards. mark.stewart@newcastle.edu.au.
John Mueller holds the Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies, Mershon Centre, and is a Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University, where he teaches courses in international relations. He is the author of several political science books including War, Presidents and Public Opinion, The Remnants of War and Overblown. bbbb@osu.edu.
|
