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First and Second Best Voting Rules in Committees

Author

Listed:
  • Ruth Ben-Yashar

    (Bar-Ilan University)

  • Igal Milchtaich

    (Bar-Ilan University)

Abstract

A group of people with identical preferences but different abilities in identifying the best alternative (e.g., a jury) takes a vote to decide between two alternatives. The first best voting rule is a weighted voting rule that takes into account the different individual competences, and is therefore not anonymous. Under such a rule, it is rational for group members to vote informatively, i.e., according to their private information. The use of any (non-trivial) anonymous voting rule may provide an incentive for some group members to vote strategically, non-informatively. However, this paper shows that the identity of the best anonymous voting rule does not depend on whether or not they actually choose to do so; a single, second best, rule maximizes utility in both cases.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruth Ben-Yashar & Igal Milchtaich, 2003. "First and Second Best Voting Rules in Committees," Working Papers 2003-08, Bar-Ilan University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:biu:wpaper:2003-08
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    strategic voting; informative voting; committees; imperfect information;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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