Dewan, Torun and Galeotti, Andrea and Ghiglino, Christian and Squintani, Francesco (2015) Information Aggregation and Optimal Structure of the Executive. American Journal of Political Science, 59 (2). pp. 475-494. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12121
Dewan, Torun and Galeotti, Andrea and Ghiglino, Christian and Squintani, Francesco (2015) Information Aggregation and Optimal Structure of the Executive. American Journal of Political Science, 59 (2). pp. 475-494. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12121
Dewan, Torun and Galeotti, Andrea and Ghiglino, Christian and Squintani, Francesco (2015) Information Aggregation and Optimal Structure of the Executive. American Journal of Political Science, 59 (2). pp. 475-494. DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12121
Abstract
We model two aspects of executives in parliamentary democracies: Decision-making authority is assigned to individuals, and private information is aggregated through communication. When information is relevant to all policies and communication is private, all decisions should be centralized to a single politician. A government that holds cabinet meetings, where information is made available to all decision makers, outperforms one where communication is private: A multimember cabinet can be optimal; it need not be single peaked around the most moderate politician or ideologically connected. Centralization is nonmonotonic in the degree of ideological divergence. In a large cabinet, all power should be given to the most moderate politician. Even when uncertainty is policy specific and a single politician is informed on each policy, power should never be fully decentralized. Our model provides a justification for centralized authority and cabinet meetings that enhance the quality of policy.
Item Type: | Article |
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Uncontrolled Keywords: | L91; L96 |
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory |
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics, Department of |
SWORD Depositor: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email elements@essex.ac.uk |
Date Deposited: | 09 Jan 2015 10:36 |
Last Modified: | 30 Oct 2024 19:56 |
URI: | http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/12223 |
Available files
Filename: OptimalExecutiveStructure_AJPS_resub_Dec2013_Final.pdf