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The size of the yolk: Computations for odd and even-numbered committees

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Abstract

The yolk is an important new concept for analysis of the instability of majority choice by committees. This paper reports a generalization of the definition of the yolk which extends its applicability to even-numbered committees and to supramajority choice. It also reports the results of computation of the location and size of the yolk for committees of different sizes. The results confirm earlier conjectures and findings that majority choice is likely to be confined to a centrally located subset of an issue space which is small and which decreases in size with increases in committee membership.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Affairs, The American University, 20016, Washington, D.C., USA

    D. H. Koehler

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  1. D. H. Koehler
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Additional information

I wish to thank an anonymous referee for a number of valuable suggestions.

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Koehler, D.H. The size of the yolk: Computations for odd and even-numbered committees. Soc Choice Welfare 7, 231–245 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01395724

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01395724

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