A Note on th Possible Advantage of Size Flexibility in Committees

Abstract:

This note analyzes the possible advantage of size flexibility in decision-making bodies facing an uncertain dichotomous choice. We find that under constant size variability, application of the unanimity rule might be more desirable than the simple majority rule, yielding higher average performance. In contrast, and as is well known, the latter rule is always the superior one, given a fixed number of decision makers with identical decisional competence.