A Theory of Conservatism
研究群体在基于私人证据做决策时面临的搭便车问题，提出采用保守规则（即当证据支持但不充分时反对群体偏好的选项）能激励成员收集证据、提升决策质量，解释了群体为何对偏好选项过度谨慎。
A free-rider problem arises when a group choice between two alternatives has to be made on the basis of privately collected evidence, leading to insufficient effort in gathering evidence and an ex ante welfare loss for the group. To alleviate the free-rider problem, the group can commit to a "conservative" rule, whereby the decision is made against the alternative favored by the group's preference or prior when evidence supports it but is not preponderant. Optimal conservatism increases private incentives to gather evidence and improves the quality of the group decision. My result explains why sometimes groups appear overly cautious toward favored alternatives.