We experimentally investigate information aggregation through majority voting when some voters are biased. In such situations, majority voting can have a “dark side,” that is, result in
groups making choices inferior to those made by individuals acting alone. In line with theoretical predictions, information on the
popularity of policy choices is beneficial when a minority of voters is biased, but harmful when a majority is biased. In theory,
information on the success of policy choices elsewhere de-biases voters and alleviates the inefficiency. However, in the experiment,
providing social information on success is ineffective and does not de-bias voters.
By definition, scientists do experiments. Increasingly, that truism now applies to political scientists, just as it
does to chemists or biologists. Rebecca Morton is at the forefront of the development and growing recognition of this new aspect of an old discipline. Rebecca
Morton's research focuses on voting processes as well as experimental methods. She is the author or co-author of four books and numerous journal articles,
which have appeared in noted outlets such as the American Economic Review, American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, Journal of Law and
Economics, Journal of Politics, and Review of Economic Studies.
This event is organized jointly by the MS2Discovery Institute and the Laurier Department of Economics at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics.
Contact at the MS2Discovery Research Institute: Maria Gallego (Host of the speaker, Tecton 8: Econometrics and Quantitative Approaches to Economics, Business and Political Science
Refreshments will be provided