Uncertainty of science and decision-making – problems with evidence-based policy

The purpose of this article is primarily to introduce the topic of scientific uncertainty to the wider context of economics and management. Scientific uncertainty is one of the manifestations of irreducible uncertainty and reflection on it should enable better decision making. An entity that bases its operation on current scientific research, which depreciates over time and ultimately leads to erroneous decisions, is referred to as the “loser”. The text indicates estimation of potential scale of this problem supplemented by an outline of sociological difficulties identified in the analysis of the process of building scientific statements. The article ends with a sketch of the answer to the question “how to act in the context of scientific uncertainty?”