A multiple criteria decision analytic approach for evaluating acid rain policy choices

Multi-Attribute Utility Theoretic Approach is adopted to analyze the problem of acid rain policy choices for multiple impacted groups (agents) under two conditions: exact and imprecise preference information. The analysis involves the setting up of attributes and feasible policy alternatives. Estimates of acid rain impacts are obtained from secondary data. The emphasis is more on framework which allows explorations of compromises and the identification of acceptable impact areas than on exact results. The strongest message of this paper is that even without specifying exact cardinal preferences some dominance relationships can be established between policies in a real-world setting.