Gilligan Krehbiel (1987) - Collective Decision Making And Standing Committees

Reference(s)

Gilligan, T. and K. Krehbiel (1987), Collective Decision-making and Standing Committees: An Informational Rationale for Restrictive Amendment Procedures, Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 3, 287 pdf

Abstract

Specialization is a predominant feature of informed decisionmaking in col- lective bodies. Alternatives are often initially evaluated by standing com- mittees comprised of subsets of the membership. Committee members may have prior knowledge about policies in the committee's jurisdiction or may develop expertise on an ongoing basis. Specialization by committees can be an efficient way for the parent body to obtain costly information about the consequences of alternative policies. Indeed, some scholars have argued persuasively that acquisition of information is the raison d'etre for legislative committees (Cooper).