Reports

Short Ballots: Why Mayors are in Charge of So Many Different Things

O'Flaherty, Brendan Andrew

When the same group of voters want to have a number of different tasks performed, but can observe performance only imperfectly, the best way to do so is to bundle the tasks together and hold a single agent responsible for them all. Other methods are subject to manipulation. That's why municipalities elect mayors who are responsible for a large number of different functions, rather than separate commissioners for each different function.

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More About This Work

Academic Units
Economics
Publisher
Department of Economics, Columbia University
Series
Department of Economics Discussion Papers, 736
Published Here
March 2, 2011

Notes

August 1995