Econometrica: May, 2011, Volume 79, Issue 3
An Experimental Study of Collective Deliberation
https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA8852
p. 893-921
Jacob K. Goeree, Leeat Yariv
We study the effects of deliberation on collective decisions. In a series of experiments, we vary groups' preference distributions (between common and conflicting interests) and the institutions by which decisions are reached (simple majority, two‐thirds majority, and unanimity). Without deliberation, different institutions generate significantly different outcomes, tracking the theoretical comparative statics. Deliberation, however, significantly diminishes institutional differences and uniformly improves efficiency. Furthermore, communication protocols exhibit an array of stable attributes: messages are public, consistently reveal private information, provide a good predictor for ultimate group choices, and follow particular (endogenous) sequencing.
Supplemental Material
Supplement to "An Experimental Study of Collective Deliberation"
A zip file containing the replication files for the manuscript.
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Supplement to "An Experimental Study of Collective Deliberation"
A zip file containing the instructions given to experimental subjects.
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