On the informational efficiency of simple scoring rules

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Theory
Year: 2011
Volume: 146
Issue: 4
Pages: 1464-1480

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study information aggregation in large elections. With two candidates, efficient information aggregation is possible (e.g., Feddersen and Pesendorfer [5], [6] and [7]). We show that this result does not extend to elections with more than two candidates. We study a class of simple scoring rules in voting games with Poisson population uncertainty and three candidates. No simple scoring rule aggregates information efficiently, even if preferences are dichotomous and a Condorcet winner always exists. We introduce a weaker criterion of informational efficiency that requires a voting rule to have at least one efficient equilibrium. Only approval voting satisfies this criterion.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jetheo:v:146:y:2011:i:4:p:1464-1480
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25