Sheltering in place : the limits of integrative bargaining following industrial accidents

This study grew out of an interest in environmental justice and the unique problems faced by neighborhoods located near petrochemical facilities. It also focuses on negotiation theory and how it can be applied under an increasingly diverse array of circumstances. I sketch the roots of the concept of integrative bargaining and how it emerged as a powerful yet limited tool for meeting the interests of stakeholders in multi-party contexts. Specifically, I demonstrate how research into the structure of conflict, with origins in contract and game theory, encouraged a new profession that focuses much of its time, paradoxically, on matters of agency, such as the strategic elements widely viewed as conducive to a Pareto efficient outcome. In an effort to encourage a renewed focus on structure, I show how in a highly institutionalized setting, which for my dissertation included the causes and immediate consequences of an accidental toxic emission by a chemical processing facility, much of the integrative potential of the negotiations that follow is removed from potential discussion or even discovery before mediators and the parties involved begin to address root causes.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Macey, Gregg P

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lawrence Susskind.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39943

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39943