How can we assess the impact of deliberation on people's votes?

Dialogues économiques
Consensus conferences, citizens' assemblies, neighbourhood councils, etc. Since the 1980s, deliberation has emerged as a response to the crisis of democracy. But how do you measure its value and impact? For the first time, a team of researchers has studied the role of the tools used to gather participants' opinions.
May 22nd 2024
Reference
Sy M. M., Figuières C., Rey-Valette H., HowarthR. B., De Wit, R., 2022, « Valuation of ecosystem services and social choice : The impact of deliberation in the context of two different aggregation rules ». Social Choice and Welfare.

Previously issued

  • Interview

« Travestir les chiffres est la marque de fabrique des populistes »

Only in French | An interview of Alain Trannoy (EHESS/AMSE) published by Le Point.
June 21st 2024
  • Dialogues économiques

At what cost? Calculating the impact of climate change – today and tomorrow

Mostly unknown outside academic circles, the social discount rate (SDR) is vital for understanding the value of infrastructure investments far into the future. But if that’s especially relevant in a world threatened by climate change, governments and economists have long argued exactly what discount rate to use, or if a fixed rate is even necessary. Economists Christian Gollier, Frederick van der Ploeg and Jiakun Zheng recently developed a major survey to gauge opinion on the SDR across their profession. Between the theoretical importance of project-specific discount rates, and a reluctance to tweak rates in practice, their findings are worth exploring – especially once you consider the need to expand the debate beyond economics.
June 19th 2024
  • Dialogues économiques

Building your identity on a minefield

Can mining influence the way in which we identify ourselves? According to economists Nicolas Berman, Mathieu Couttenier and Victoire Girard, mining in Africa may intensify feelings of ethnic belonging, by generating feelings of deprivation among the local population. Mining could therefore help explain ethnic fragmentation and certain conflicts observed in Sub-Saharan Africa.
June 05th 2024