An international comparative analysis of public acceptance of nuclear energy Younghwan Kim a , Wonjoon Kim b,n , Minki Kim c,nn a KAIST, Center for Science-based Entrepreneurship, 335 Gwahangno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea b KAIST, Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management, Department of Business and Technology Management, 335 Gwahangno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea c KAIST, Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management, Department of Business and Technology Management, 335 Gwahangno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea HIGHLIGHTS  We examine public acceptance (PA) of nuclear power across 19 countries.  Three levels of PA – strongly accept, reluctantly accept, and oppose – are considered.  Knowledge is most effective in creating stronger PA.  Trust is effective in shifting PA from opposition to reluctant acceptance.  Low risk and benefit of electricity generation enhance PA the most. article info Article history: Received 19 July 2013 Received in revised form 13 November 2013 Accepted 15 November 2013 Available online 4 December 2013 Keywords: Public acceptance Nuclear energy Reluctant acceptance abstract Across the globe, public acceptance of nuclear power is a crucial factor for governmental establishment of a nuclear energy program. Therefore, it is important to understand the determinants of public acceptance of nuclear power. This study examines the effects of knowledge, trust, risk, and benefit related factors on public acceptance of nuclear power across 19 countries. We consider three levels of public acceptance – strongly accept, reluctantly accept, and oppose – and classify countries into four groups according to the ratio of those three levels of public acceptance. Our results indicate that knowledge of nuclear inspection is more effective than trust in inspection authorities in creating stronger public acceptance among people in the countries with a high level of reluctant acceptance and a low level of strong acceptance, while trust in inspection authorities is more important than knowledge of nuclear inspection for the selection between opposition and reluctant acceptance in countries with a low level of reluctant acceptance and a high level of strong acceptance. Without grouping the countries, we found that trust in inspection authorities is crucial for the decision between opposition and reluctant acceptance. Additionally, the generation of electricity has the most positive effect on public acceptance of nuclear power. & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Nuclear energy has been one of the major sources of electricity since its initial commercialization in the 1950s. Nuclear energy has been recognized as more cost effective due to advanced nuclear technologies, as well as being an environmentally friendly energy source with a lower level of carbon emissions than fossil fuels (Lee and Jung, 2007; Vaillancourt et al., 2008; Visschers et al., 2011). For these reasons, countries with a lack of fossil fuels have supported development of nuclear power generation programs to protect their national energy security needs, despite the political and economic threats associated therewith, especially given the risks surrounding their existing energy resources (Lee and Jung, 2008; Jun et al., 2009). However, nuclear accidents and incidents such as Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the recent Fukushima nuclear disaster have caused people to be suspicious of the safety of nuclear energy, and have reduced the level of trust among members of the public (Melber, 1982; Nealey et al., 1983; Ramana, 2011; Renn, 1990; Rosa, 2001; Rosa and Dunlap, 1994; Smith and Michaels, 1987). Com- pared to new and renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaics and wind-driven generators, which are expected to be more affordable in the next decade (Moriarty and Honnery, 2012; Resch et al., 2008), the resolution of regional community opposi- tion to the building of a nuclear power plant or a nuclear waste Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol Energy Policy 0301-4215/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.11.039 n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ82 42 350 4336, fax: þ82 42 350 4340. nn Corresponding author. Tel.: þ82 42 350 6315, fax: þ82 42 350 4340. E-mail addresses: younghwankim@kaist.ac.kr (Y. Kim), wonjoon.kim@kaist.edu (W. Kim), minki.kim@kaist.ac.kr (M. Kim). Energy Policy 66 (2014) 475–483