|
on Collective Decision-Making |
| By: | Alexsandros Cavgias; Raphael Corbi, Luis Meloni, Lucas M. Novaes |
| Abstract: | Political debates provide voters with a unique opportunity to learn about which candidates best represent their interests. They are complex campaign events that are followed by intensive media analysis and commentary. Despite growing evidence about their impact on voter behavior, little is known about their interrelated role with subsequent news coverage. This paper investigates the impact of an episode of manipulated TV coverage of a major presidential debate on the 1989 Brazilian presidential election. First, we present evidence from an online experiment that the coverage affects the audience’s evaluation of candidates differently then the actual debate. We then take advantage of a unique natural experiment regarding the geographical distribution of broadcaster-specific TV signal and the timing of election events in order to disentangle the effect of the coverage from the debate itself. By exploring both survey and actual election data, we find that the left-wing candidate lost 1.9−8.6 p.p. in vote share due to unfavorable coverage by the dominant TV network in Brazil. We also provide direct evidence that the mechanism works through a change in voters’ perception of who won the debate. Together, our set of results show how dominant media groups can distort the information generated by presidential debates through its subsequent news coverage, thus hindering the role of debates in informing voters. |
| Keywords: | political debates; media bias; elections |
| JEL: | D72 L82 O12 |
| Date: | 2019–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2019wpecon17&r=all |
| By: | Pierre Dehez; Victor Ginsburgh |
| Abstract: | Approval voting allows electors to list any number of candidates and their scores are obtained by summing the votes cast in their favor. Equal-and-even cumulative voting instead follows the One-person-one-vote principle by endowing electors with a single vote that they may evenly distribute among several candidates. It corresponds to satisfaction approval voting introduced by Brams and Kilgour (2014) as an extension of approval voting to a multiwinner election. It also corresponds to the concept of Shapley ranking introduced by Ginsburgh and Zang (2012) as the Shapley value of a cooperative game with transferable utility. In the present paper, we provide an axiomatic foundation of Shapley ranking and analyze the properties of the resulting social welfare function. |
| Keywords: | Search and matching models, Collective bargaining, Experience rating, Employment protection. |
| JEL: | D71 C71 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2019-17&r=all |
| By: | Theodor Cimpeanu; The Anh Han; Francisco C. Santos |
| Abstract: | The design of mechanisms that encourage pro-social behaviours in populations of self-regarding agents is recognised as a major theoretical challenge within several areas of social, life and engineering sciences. When interference from external parties is considered, several heuristics have been identified as capable of engineering a desired collective behaviour at a minimal cost. However, these studies neglect the diverse nature of contexts and social structures that characterise real-world populations. Here we analyse the impact of diversity by means of scale-free interaction networks with high and low levels of clustering, and test various interference paradigms using simulations of agents facing a cooperative dilemma. Our results show that interference on scale-free networks is not trivial and that distinct levels of clustering react differently to each interference strategy. As such, we argue that no tailored response fits all scale-free networks and present which strategies are more efficient at fostering cooperation in both types of networks. Finally, we discuss the pitfalls of considering reckless interference strategies. |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1905.04964&r=all |
| By: | Nelly El-Mallakh (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | Did the Egyptian protests lead to political change? I examine the effects of the first and second waves of Egyptian protests that started in 2011, on voting outcomes during Egypt's first free Presidential elections that took place between May and June 2012. I geocoded the "martyrs" - demonstrators who died during the protests - using unique information from the Statistical Database of the Egyptian Revolution and exploited the variation in districts' exposure to the Egyptian protests. Using official elections' results collected from the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) and controlling for districts' characteristics using Census data, I find suggestive evidence that higher exposure to protests' intensity leads to a higher share of votes for former regime candidates, both during the first and second rounds of Egypt's first presidential elections after the uprisings. From the period of euphoria following the toppling of Mubarak to the sobering realities of the political transition process, I find that protests led to a conservative backlash, alongside negative economic expectations, general dissatisfaction with government performance, decreasing levels of trust towards public institutions, and increasing recognition of limitations on civil and political liberties. |
| Keywords: | Egyptian protests,Presidential elections,voting outcomes,martyrs |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01625199&r=all |
| By: | Gazi Islam (MC - Management et Comportement - Grenoble École de Management (GEM), IREGE - Institut de Recherche en Gestion et en Economie - USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry] - Université Savoie Mont Blanc); Marie Holm (ESCEM - Ecole supérieure de commerce et de management); Mira Karjalainen (University of Helsinki [Helsinki]) |
| Abstract: | The rapid emergence of mindfulness programs within organizational settings reflects an amalgam of humanistic, spiritual, and managerial perspectives. While impact studies have focused on effects of mindfulness programs on employees, how such programs are implemented by trainers, managers, and employees and how the mindfulness concept operates within organizations are not well understood. In this study, we draw upon Laclau's notion of the 'empty signifier' to argue that mindfulness programs work to encode oppositional organizational elements, drawing on competing discourses that shape, in practice, how mindfulness evolves within organizations. Through an empirical qualitative study of organizational mindfulness practitioners, we show how practitioners leverage heterogeneous meanings to represent oppositions within organizations, and that in the course of mindfulness programs, these oppositions are framed to align with dominant managerial perspectives. We discuss the ramifications of these findings to understanding the uses of mindfulness for ideological purposes while speculating on the emancipatory possibilities of mindfulness as a solidaristic and collective practice. |
| Keywords: | Appropriation,hegemony,Laclau,mindfulness,power,signifier,workplace spirituality |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01958800&r=all |
| By: | Virpi Sorsa (Hanken School of Economics - Hanken School of Economics); Heini Merkkiniemi; Nada Endrissat (BFH - Bern University of Applied Sciences); Gazi Islam (MC - Management et Comportement - Grenoble École de Management (GEM), IREGE - Institut de Recherche en Gestion et en Economie - USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry] - Université Savoie Mont Blanc) |
| Abstract: | While interest in art-based interventions is growing rapidly, little is known about the aesthetic, material, and interpersonal mechanisms by which art interventions, and musical interventions in particular, operate. We address this gap by drawing from an in-depth case study of a musical intervention in a professional ice-hockey team in Finland. At the time of the study, the organization faced a serious crisis, having lost 11 sequential games, leading its managers to search for "alternative" means for promoting social cohesion, and subsequently engaging in an arts-based musical intervention. Our findings examine how material objects and collective synchronization rhythms grounded the interpersonal interactions of team members and mediated members' attempts to transform personal subjective experiences into collective collaboration. We draw out the conceptual implications of our findings for understanding, on the one hand, the collective nature of aesthetic processes, and on the other hand, the materially mediated processes of communication. In terms of practical implication, we contribute to understanding the social dynamics and transformative organizational possibilities of artistic interventions that generate value for the organization and its members. |
| Keywords: | arts-based intervention,musical intervention,aesthetics,embodied communication,materiality,organizational communication |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01959027&r=all |
| By: | Cipullo, Davide (Uppsala University); Reslow, André (Uppsala University) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces macroeconomic forecasters as political agents and suggests that they use their forecasts to influence voting outcomes. We develop a probabilistic voting model in which voters do not have complete information about the future states of the economy and have to rely on macroeconomic forecasters. The model predicts that it is optimal for forecasters with economic interest (stakes) and influence to publish biased forecasts prior to a referendum. We test our theory using high-frequency data at the forecaster level surrounding the Brexit referendum. The results show that forecasters with stakes and in uence released much more pessimistic estimates for GDP growth in the following year than other forecasters. Actual GDP growth rate in 2017 shows that forecasters with stakes and in uence were also more incorrect than other institutions and the propaganda bias explains up to 50 percent of their forecast error. |
| Keywords: | Brexit; Interest Groups; Forecasters Behavior; Voting |
| JEL: | D72 D82 E27 H30 |
| Date: | 2019–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0364&r=all |
| By: | Ghidoni, Riccardo (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); Suetens, Sigrid (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Sequentiality of moves in an infinitely repeated prisoner’s dilemma does not change the conditions under which mutual cooperation can be supported in equilibrium as compared to simultaneous decision-making. The nature of the interaction is different, however, given that the second mover in a sequential-move game does not face strategic uncertainty in the stage game. We study in an experiment whether sequentiality has an effect on cooperation rates. We find that with intermediate incentives to cooperate, sequentiality increases cooperation rates by around 40 percentage points after learning, whereas with very low or high incentives to cooperate, cooperation rates are respectively very low or high in both settings. |
| Keywords: | cooperation; infinitely repeated games; sequential prisoner's dilemma; strategic uncertainty; experiment |
| JEL: | C70 C90 D70 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiucen:ff3a441f-e196-4e45-ba59-c86864a966fc&r=all |
| By: | Stefano Gagliarducci; M. Daniele Paserman; Eleonora Patacchini |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how politicians and voters respond to new information on the threats of climate change. Using data on the universe of federal disaster declarations between 1989 and 2014, we document that congress members from districts hit by a hurricane are more likely to support bills promoting more environmental regulation and control in the year after the disaster. The response to hurricanes does not seem to be driven by logrolling behavior or lobbysts' pressure. The change in legislative agenda is persistent over time, and it is associated with an electoral penalty in the following elections. The response is mainly promoted by representatives in safe districts, those with more experience, and those with strong pro-environment records. Our evidence thus reveals that natural disasters may trigger a permanent change in politicians' beliefs, but only those with a sufficient electoral strength or with strong ideologies are willing to engage in promoting policies with short-run costs and long-run benefits. |
| JEL: | D70 D72 H50 Q54 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25835&r=all |
| By: | Carlsson, Fredrik (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Jacobsson, Gunnar (Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden); Jagers, Sverker C. (Centre for Collective Action Research (CeCAR), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden); Lampi, Elina (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Robertsson, Felicia (Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden); Rönnerstrand, Björn (Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden) |
| Abstract: | This paper deals with the collective action dilemma of antibiotic resistance. Despite the collective threat posed by antibiotic resistance, there are limited incentives for individuals to consider the contribution of their decisions to use antibiotics to the spread of resistance. Drawing on a novel survey of Swedish citizens (n=1,906), we study factors linked to i) willingness to accept a physician’s decision not to prescribe antibiotics and ii) willingness to limit personal use of antibiotics voluntary. In our study, 53 percent of the respondents stated that they would be willing to accept the physician’s decision despite disagreeing with it, and trust in the healthcare sector is significantly associated with acceptance. When it comes to people’s willingness to voluntarily abstain from using antibiotics, a majority stated that they are willing or very willing not to take antibiotics. The variation in willingness is best explained by concerns about antibiotic resistance and experience of antibiotic therapy, especially if a respondent has been denied antibiotics. Generalized trust seems to be unrelated to willingness to abstain, but the perception that other people limit their personal use of antibiotics is linked to respondents’ own willingness to do so. Few of the individual characteristics can explain the variation in that decision. |
| Keywords: | collective action; antibiotics use; antibiotic resistance; willingness to abstain |
| JEL: | D90 I12 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0762&r=all |
| By: | Pantelis Kammas (Athens University of Economics and Business); Vassilis Sarantides (Department of Economics, University of Sheffield) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of democratisation on tax structure in an agrarian economy where goods can be produced at home for self-consumption. We first develop a model of optimal taxation with heterogeneous agents where the good produced in the market is subject to a consumption tax, whereas the homogeneous good produced at home is burdened by a direct tax (such as land tithes). Contrary to conventional theory, our model suggests that extension of the voting franchise to poorer segments of the population exerts a negative impact on the share of direct to indirect taxes. Using unique national and regional tax data for the Kingdom of Greece - a typical agrarian economy when universal male suffrage was established in 1864 - we provide consistent empirical evidence. Greek governments adjusted tax policy in order to meet the preferences of the newly enfranchised electorate that constituted mostly by peasants and farmers. This group was harmed substantially by direct taxes on land but was able to avoid indirect taxes through self-consumption. We also employ a sample of 12 European countries over the same period and provide evidence for a similar change in the tax structure when the agricultural sector dominates the economy. |
| Keywords: | democracy, tax structure, fiscal capacity |
| JEL: | P16 H2 H5 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:shf:wpaper:2019010&r=all |
| By: | Nehring, Klaus; Puppe, Clemens |
| Abstract: | We propose a model of "frugal aggregation" in which the evaluation of social welfare must be based on information about agents' top choices plus general qualitative background conditions on preferences. The former is elicited individually, while the latter is not. We apply this model to problems of public budget allocation, relying on the specific assumption of separable and convex preferences. We propose and analyze a particularly aggregation rule called "Frugal Majority Rule." It is defined in terms of a suitably localized net majority relation. This relation is shown to be consistent, i.e. acyclic and decisive; its maxima minimize the sum of the natural resource distances to the individual tops. As a consequence of this result, we argue that the Condorcet and Borda perspectives - which con ict in the standard, ordinal setting - converge here. The second main result provides a crisp algorithmic characterization that renders the Frugal Majority Rule analytically tractable and efficiently computable. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:kitwps:131&r=all |
| By: | Oleg Sidorkin (Leibniz-Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, CERGE-EI); Dmitriy Vorobyev |
| Abstract: | Under the system of appointing regional governors by the president, which existed in Russia between 2005–2012, governors’ loyalty to the central government and particularly their ability to deliver satisfactory results to the ruling party in national-level elections were crucial to their likelihood of being re-appointed for the next term. In this paper, we show that governors, anticipating the relationship between loyalty and re-appointments, attempted to increase their likelihood of being re-appointed by delivering additional votes to the ruling party, and that these attempts were subject to regional political cycles. We argue that delivering satisfactory results may have different importance to a governor depending on the stage of his term at which elections are held. If elections are held close to the expiration of a governor’s current term, the results are likely to be pivotal to his further political career. Exploiting variation in the starting and expiry dates of Russian regional governors’ terms of office, we find that the winning margins for a pro-government party across Russian regions in national-level elections held between 2007–2012 were substantially higher when elections were closer to the expiration of a regional governor’s term. However, for elections held between 1999–2004, when governors were subject to a direct vote by the regional population, no similar effect is found. We then implement several exercises to identify the source of the additional votes for the ruling party and demonstrate that governors, while unlikely using the means of electoral fraud, exerted efforts to stimulate turnout among ruling party supporters. |
| Keywords: | political cycle, elections, electoral fraud, Russia |
| JEL: | D72 D73 P26 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ost:wpaper:376&r=all |
| By: | Nguyen, Yen (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management) |
| Abstract: | This thesis consists of three chapters. My central interest is to study the interaction between emotions and decision making, using affective computing technologies for emotion induction, measurement and analysis. The first chapter evaluates the effect of induced emotional states on risk tolerance. The second chapter explores the causal relationship between specific emotional states and cooperation, by assessing whether specific incidental emotions induce greater or less cooperation in a social dilemma environment. The final chapter considers whether the asymmetric availability of emotion data in a canonical bargaining situation between a buyer and a seller yields an advantage for the person who holds the data. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:3358deab-10bb-4b50-a147-a754bb499aac&r=all |