TESTING THE INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS OF AN ONLINE TOOL FOR COLLECTIVE DECISION-MAKING

Abstract

Over the last 20 years scientists from many disciplines have proposed mechanisms that allow decision-makers to negotiate directly on common outcomes. The Internet-enabled versions of these mechanisms can allow citizens to practice direct democracy and thus increase participation in governance. This study investigates the information requirements of one of these mechanisms – the Online Compensation Election. More specifically the study tests if the level of detail of the information available to a voter about the preference intensities of other voters affects voting behavior. We find that a decrease in the granularity of the real preference intensity information about others does not affect voting behavior and the referendum’s compensation outcomes We discuss the implications of these results and possible future directions for research.