The Character of Harms
Operational Challenges in Control

'Sparrow uses his skill in blending the academic and practical to help us decode the complexity and multi-dimensional character of risk and harm reduction. This inquiry is both broad and deep, and yet meticulous, full of great advice and replete with relevant examples. The analysis of organizational culture, structure, functions and processes hits the reader between the eyes. An indispensable read for practitioners, public administrators, CEO's, political advisors, and anyone else with a serious interest in the art and science of harm reduction.' Tony Dean, Cabinet Secretary, Ontario, Canada

'A fascinating, timely, and important study of risk, harms, and regulatory interventions, with a wonderfully broad range of topics and examples, and a great deal of common sense. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the topic of precautions.' Professor Cass Sunstein, niversity of Chicago

'Harms have an intricate character that must be studied, Malcolm Sparrow tells us. This is a remarkable book for people whose job is to control harms. It supplies nuanced reflection on how to pick problems apart and fix them. Sparrow is one of our great public policy thinkers. Here he advances the art of being evidence-based in public policy with wisdom about just what kind of artistry is involved.' Professor John Braithwaite, Australian National University

'Sparrow's ideas have inspired profound change at AFM. Increasingly we organize our expanded toolkit around the tasks - specific supervisory and compliance issues - rather than vice versa. Early results show the Authority becoming more effective in influencing financial institutions' behavior in the Netherlands. I expect this book will inspire other organizations to similar transformations, which will be neither easy nor straightforward, as Sparrow warns; but the prize is demonstrably better harm control.' Hanzo van Beusekom, Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets

'Today's environmental problems, as Sparrow teaches, really do come in a daunting array of shapes and sizes. At the EPA we have discovered that organizing our compliance programs around specific problems, analyzing their causes and contours and developing customized strategies for each, the way Sparrow proposes in this book, represents a profoundly difficult but highly rewarding departure from traditional operations. The Character of Harms will deeply affect anyone working to make the world safer, better, and more secure.' Michael Stahl, Director of Compliance, United States Environmental Protection Agency

'Malcolm Sparrow provides a clear, readable account of approaches to controlling harms, threats and risks in modern society. His skilful combination of academic literatures and practical examples presents a strong argument for evidence based action. In particular his cross domain approach should attract a wide readership ranging as it does from issues of world poverty to harm reduction in individual organizations. It will appeal to academics and practitioners alike.' Professor Bridget Hutter, London School of Economics