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Discussion Paper Details

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Title: Local Evidence and Diversity in Minipublics

Author(s): Arjada Bardhi and Nina Bobkova

Publication Date: January 2021

Keyword(s): demographic diversity, evidence discovery, informational diversity, minipublic and Political uncertainty

Programme Area(s): Industrial Organization and Public Economics

Abstract: We study optimal minipublic design with endogenous evidence. A policymaker selects a group of citizens-a minipublic-for advice on the desirability of a policy. Citizens can discover local evidence but might be deterred by uncertainty about the policymaker's adoption standard. We show that such uncertainty can be detrimental to evidence discovery even with costless evidence, civic-minded citizens, and ex ante aligned players. Evidence discovery is hardest to sustain under moderate uncertainty. The optimal minipublic has low diversity: it overrepresents citizens around the median citizen and underrepresents those at the margins. Our findings bear implications for the French Citizens' Convention on Climate.

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Bibliographic Reference

Bardhi, A and Bobkova, N. 2021. 'Local Evidence and Diversity in Minipublics'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=15704