Modest difference in individual decisional skills may warrant substantial inequality in power. This claim has been illustrated in Ben Yashar and Nitzan (Economics Letters 174:93–95, 2019), applying the symmetric uncertain dichotomous choice setting and focusing on the skill-dependent (s-d) power of the decision-makers under the optimal decision rule. The same claim is valid when one focuses on the relationship between skill heterogeneity and the distribution of the second type of power, viz., the group members' marginal contribution (mc). This has been (...) shown in Ben Yashar et al. (Journal of Theoretical Politics 33(2):225–235, 2021), where mc has been formally related to s-d power. A preliminary study of the relationship between inequality of the distributions of the two measures has also been presented. The current paper considerably expands this investigation by applying simulations and sheds light on the reason for the increased inequality of the two types of power. Since reward (in terms of status, payment or both) depends on s-d power and mc, inequality of the distribution of rewards depends on the inequality of the two types of power. Comparison of the two types of power inequality is therefore interesting if one wishes to shed light on the role of the two types of power on reward inequality. In particular, the results of the comparison may clarify the effectiveness of the incentives to invest in skills, dependent on the prevailing norms and the institutional characteristics that determine the relationship between rewards and the two types of power. For this reason, the current study focuses on the comparison between inequality of s-d power and marginal contributions showing that, in small (large) groups, on average, the latter is more (less) unequal than the former and both are more unequal than the optimal weights of the decision-makers and much more unequal than their skills. The robustness of these findings is shown by applying alternative symmetric probability distribution functions. Another novel task undertaken in the current study is the sensitivity analysis of inequality of the power measures with respect to changes in the size of the group and the skills of the group members. (shrink)

Recent political developments cast doubt on the wisdom of democratic decision-making. Brexit, the Colombian people's (initial) rejection of peace with the FARC, and the election of Donald Trump suggest that the time is right to explore alternatives to democracy. In this essay, I describe and defend the epistocratic system of government which is, given current theoretical and empirical knowledge, most likely to produce optimal political outcomes—or at least better outcomes than democracy produces. To wit, we should expand the suffrage as (...) wide as possible and weight citizens’ votes in accordance with their competence. As it turns out, the optimal system is closely related to J. S. Mill's plural voting proposal. I also explain how voters’ competences can be precisely determined, without reference to an objective standard of correctness and without generating invidious comparisons between voters. (shrink)

In this study, we are concerned with how agents can best amalgamate their private information about a binary state of Nature. The agents are heterogeneous in their “ability”, the quality of their private information. The agents cannot directly communicate their private information but instead can only vote between the two states. We first describe possible methods of sequential majority voting, and then we analyze a particular one: the first n-1\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$n-1$$\end{document} jurors vote (...) simultaneously and, in the case of a tie, the remaining juror has the casting vote. We prove that when n=3\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$n=3$$\end{document}, the probability of a correct verdict is maximized when the agent of median ability has the casting vote. (shrink)

Many now countenance the idea that certain groups can have beliefs, or at least belief-like states. If groups can have beliefs like these, the question of whether such beliefs are justified immediately arises. Recently, Goldman Essays in collective epistemology, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014) has considered what a reliability-based account of justified group belief might look like. In this paper I consider his account and find it wanting, and so propose a modified reliability-based account of justified group belief. Lackey :341–396, (...) 2016) has also criticized Goldman’s proposal, but for very different reasons than I do. Some of her objections, however, can be lodged against the modified account that I propose here. I also respond to these objections. Finally, I note how some formal and experimental work is relevant to those who are attracted to the kind of reliability-based account of justified group belief I develop here. (shrink)