An Economic Theory of Policy Advice

摘要: An important feature of modern government is a high degree of specialisation. Some political actors act as proposers of policies. Other political actors act as choosers of policies. For different policy areas different proposers exist. Most political actors are assisted by advisers who usually are also specialists. In this paper we examine how division of tasks (proposers and choosers of policies) in the policy decision process and specialised advisory units affect policy outcomes. We provide a game theoretical explanation for why policy makers tend to consult experts who share their own predispositions. In addition, we show that the two-stage decision procedure, in which a proposer (a minister or a committee) proposes policies and a chooser (the president or Congress) decides, may lead to wrong decisions about policies.