Compromising on Compromise Rules

Abstract

We propose three mechanisms to reach compromise between two opposing par- ties. They are based on the use of Rules of k Names, whereby one of the parties proposes a shortlist and the other chooses from it. Methods of this class are used in practice to appoint Supreme Court justices and have been recently proposed for arbitration selection processes. Our mechanisms are flexible and allow the parties to participate in the endogenous determination of the role of proposer and the shortlist size. They involve few stages, weakly implement the Unanimity Compromise Set and are robust to the strategic inclusion of candidates.

Published as: Compromising on Compromising Rules in RAND Journal of Economics , Vol. 53, No. 1, 95-112, April, 2022