Why a Group Needs a Leader: Decision-Making and Debate in Committees
Abstract
I develop a model of group decision-making, in which a committee generates proposals and holds open discussions, but the ultimate decision is either taken by a leader (decision by authority) or by majority vote. Optimal communication processes are studied that combine both cheap talk statements (proposals) and costly state verification (discussions). I show that by favouring one particular agent—the leader—authoritative decisionmaking reduces rent-seeking discussions and often results in a higher decision-quality relative to majority decision-making. Institutions which guarantee a "right to voice" by separating the roles of decision maker and discussion leader may further improve efficiency.
Download PDF
Citation
Dessein, Wouter. "Why a Group Needs a Leader: Decision-Making and Debate in Committees." Discussion Paper No. DP6168, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), 2007.
Each author name for a Columbia Business School faculty member is linked to a faculty research page, which lists additional publications by that faculty member.
Each topic is linked to an index of publications on that topic.