Sunstein on Infotopia, Information and Decision-Making

EconTalk

• Episode: Sunstein on Infotopia, Information and Decision-Making
• Website: EconTalk
• Feed URL: http://files.libertyfund.org/econtalk/EconTalk.xml
• Duration: 01:05:04
• Published: 2007-05-14 07:45

Cass Sunstein of the University of Chicago talks about the ideas in his latest book, Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge. What are the best ways to get the information needed to make wise decisions when that information is spread out among an organization's members or a society's citizens? He argues that prediction markets can help both politicians and business leaders make better decisions and discusses the surprising ways they're already being used today. Deliberation, the standard way we often gather information at various kinds of meetings, has some unpleasant biases that hamper its usefulness relative to surveys and incentive-based alternatives.