Managing biosafety and biodiversity in a global world: EU, US, California and comparative perspectives.

The Centre together with LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance and the Centre on Institutions and Governance at UC Berkeley have launched a project on EU-U.S-California regulatory cooperation. The goal is to create an international and interdisciplinary group of experts that explores the relationship between the regulatory policies of the European Union, the United States and California on regulation in general and with specific reference to biosafety and biodiversity. After two workshops (one in Europe and one in the U.S.) and two conferences, the project will produce an edited volume that explore how regulatory cooperation between the European Union, the United States and California can be strengthened. The project will draw upon the expertise of faculty from American and European universities, as well as relevant stakeholders. This international and interdisciplinary project aims to compare regulatory policies of the European Union, the United States and California, both in general and with regard to biosafety and biodiversity, and to explore how regulatory cooperation between California, the United States and the European Union can be strengthened. California is chosen as a specific case, in the context of the United States, because it has emerged as a regulatory policy leader in the United States. Historically, California has been a regulatory first-mover at both the national and international levels. The European Union has increasingly taken up this role at the global level. The focus of the project will be both to understand general regulatory issues and to apply these to two policy areas: biosafety and biodiversity. With regard to general topics the project focuses on: - The politics of regulation - The political economy of regulatory competition and cooperation - And specific issues such as the California Effect and the Soft Power of the European Union With regard to Biosafety and Biodiversity the project will explore the relationship between California/US and European regulatory policies. With regard to biosafety the project aims to identify the common challenges posed to the European Union and United States in relation to the safe transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food imports, including risks assessments. With regard to biodiversity special attention will be paid inter alia to the relationship between biodiversity and climate change.

Keywords:Biosafety, Biodiversity

Disciplines:Applied economics, Economic history, Macroeconomics and monetary economics, Microeconomics, Tourism