AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE BSE SCARE

The economic aspects of the outbreak of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in British cattle herds are investigated. On balance, a non‐interventionist approach is most likely to be the least‐cost method of dealing with the BSE problem, where costs include the risks of humans contracting Creutzfeldt‐Jakob Disease (CJD). There is no case for compensating farmers for the historic cost of building up infected herds.