Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The significance of independent decisions in uncertain dichotomous choice situations

  • Published:
Theory and Decision Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The main concern of this paper is the selection of optimal decision rules for groups of individuals with identical preferences but diverse and dependent decisional skills. The main result establishes that within the uncertain dichotomous choice situation independent voting is always weakly superior to any pattern of interdependence among individual decisions. For the special class of total interdependence patterns the optimal rule is explicitly identified.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Condorcet, N. C. de: 1785, Essai sur l'application de l'analyse à la probabilité des decisions rendues a la pluralité des voix, Paris.

  • Grofman, B.: 1978, ‘Judgemental Competence of Individuals and Groups in a Dichotomous Choice Situation: Is a Majority of Heads Better than One?’ Journal of Mathematical Sociology 6, 47–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grofman, B., Owen, G., and Feld, S.: forthcoming, ‘Thirteen Theorems in Search of the Truth’, Theory and Decision.

  • Klevorick, A. K. and Rothschild, M.: 1979, ‘A Model of the Jury Decision Process’, Journal of Legal Studies (January 1979), 141–64.

  • Mill, J. S.: 1861, Considerations on Representative Government, Parker, Son and Brown, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nitzan, S. and Paroush, J.: 1980, ‘Investment in Human Capital and Social Self Protection Under Uncertainty’, International Economic Review 21, 547–57.

  • Nitzan, S. and Paroush, J.: 1981, ‘The Characterization of Decisive Weighted Majority Rules’, Economics Letters 7, 119–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nitzan, S. and Paroush, J.: 1982a, ‘Optimal Decision Rules in Uncertain Dichotomous Choice Situation’, International Economic Review 23, 289–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nitzan, S. and Paroush, J.: 1982b, forthcoming, ‘Are Qualified Majority Rules Special?’, Public Choice.

  • Nitzan, S. and Paroush, J.: forthcoming, ‘Small Panels of Experts in Dichotomous Choice Situations’, Decision Sciences.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel

    Shmuel Nitzan & Jacob Paroush

  2. Department of Economics, Bon-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    Shmuel Nitzan & Jacob Paroush

Authors
  1. Shmuel Nitzan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jacob Paroush
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nitzan, S., Paroush, J. The significance of independent decisions in uncertain dichotomous choice situations. Theor Decis 17, 47–60 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00140055

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00140055

Keywords

Search

Navigation