Collaborative Research on Expensive Choices: The Effect of  Decision Making Costs on Political Outcomes
{'Code': '04050200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'SBE', 'LongName': 'Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'SES', 'LongName': 'Divn Of Social and Economic Sciences'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Frank P. Scioli  Jr.', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
This project investigates the way that costs to decision making                 affect political choices.  In all political settings there are                  costs to making a decision.  For example, in a legislative                      setting, such as Congress, members do not settle on policies in                 the absence of costs.   Proposed policies require committee                     consideration, which in turn use committee staff resources and                  committee members' time.  Policies coming to the floor require                  debate, which in turn takes up time from considering other                      proposals.  Reconciling legislation between the two Chambers also               consumes staff resources and conference committee members' time.                In short, all legislation passing through Congress carries with                 it a variety of costs to decision making.                                                                                                                       In this investigation the researchers employ formal analytical                  models in order to investigate the effect of decision costs on                  political decision making.  They build on an important literature               in political science and economics that is concerned with                       understanding political choices.  The investigators regard costs                to decision making as an important (and ignored) piece of the                   puzzle for understanding political choices.  The focus is on                    three general types of costs:  agenda access costs .. costs                     associated with proposing, amending or voting on an agenda;                     information costs .. costs associated with gathering or                         generating information about alternatives in the choice process;                and time costs .. costs associated with the amount of time given                over to making political choices.  Half of this project is                      devoted to developing theoretical hypotheses which can then be                  tested in an empirical context.  The second half of this research               is focused on empirical research.  In order to systematically                   test the theoretical hypotheses, the investigators utilize                      laboratory experimental methods. These experiments involve small                groups of individuals making choices in a committee.like setting.               Participants in these experiments are seated at microcomputer                   terminals which are linked together in a Local Area Network.  All               interaction between participants takes place over the computer                  terminals, thus providing strong controls on participant                        behavior.  Participants are allowed to build an agenda across                   these proposals.  Motivation in the experiment is provided by                   paying individuals in cash for their choice.  The experiments are               designed to test various attributes of decision costs that are                  generated from the theoretical models.  These models in turn                    provide strong predictions for the experimental results.                                                                                                        This research provides important insights into a neglected area                 of political decision making.  Rather than relying simply on                    theoretical models of behavior in a political context, this                     research also provides empirical test of the models.  At the                    completion of this research we can expect rich theoretical models               which have been verified in an experimental setting.
{'FirstName': 'Roberta', 'LastName': 'Herzberg', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Roberta Herzberg', 'EmailAddress': None, 'NSF_ID': '000429590', 'StartDate': '03/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Indiana University', 'CityName': 'BLOOMINGTON', 'ZipCode': '474057000', 'PhoneNumber': '3172783473', 'StreetAddress': '107 S INDIANA AVE', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Indiana', 'StateCode': 'IN', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '09', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'IN09', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'YH86RTW2YVJ4', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': 'YH86RTW2YVJ4'}
{'Name': None, 'CityName': None, 'StateCode': None, 'ZipCode': None, 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': None, 'CountryName': None, 'StateName': None, 'CountryFlag': None, 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': None, 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': '""'}
[{'Code': '1320', 'Text': 'Economics'}, {'Code': '1371', 'Text': 'Political Science'}]
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8721250.xml'}