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Making Talk Cheap (and Problems Easy): How Legal and Political Institutions Can Facilitate Consensus

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  • Cheryl Boudreau
  • Mathew D. McCubbins
  • Daniel B. Rodriguez
  • Nicholas Weller

Abstract

In many legal, political, and social settings, people must reach a consensus before particular outcomes can be achieved and failing to reach a consensus may be costly. In this article, we present a theory and conduct experiments that take into account the costs associated with communicating, as well as the difficulty of the decisions that groups make. We find that when there is even a small cost (relative to the potential benefit) associated with sending information to others and/or listening, groups are much less likely to reach a consensus, primarily because they are less willing to communicate with one another. We also find that difficult problems significantly reduce group members’ willingness to communicate with one another and, therefore, hinder their ability to reach a consensus.

Suggested Citation

  • Cheryl Boudreau & Mathew D. McCubbins & Daniel B. Rodriguez & Nicholas Weller, 2010. "Making Talk Cheap (and Problems Easy): How Legal and Political Institutions Can Facilitate Consensus," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(4), pages 868-885, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:empleg:v:7:y:2010:i:4:p:868-885
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-1461.2010.01198.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lupia,Arthur & McCubbins,Mathew D., 1998. "The Democratic Dilemma," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521585934, July.
    2. Cheryl Boudreau & Mathew D. McCubbins, 2008. "Nothing But the Truth? Experiments on Adversarial Competition, Expert Testimony, and Decision Making," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(4), pages 751-789, December.
    3. Weingast, Barry R & Marshall, William J, 1988. "The Industrial Organization of Congress; or, Why Legislatures, Like Firms, Are Not Organized as Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(1), pages 132-163, February.
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