How Decision-Making Fails Under the Sunshine Laws: An Agency Based Model

Abstract

Sunshine laws can lead to the failure of decision-making processes. This paper tests an agency-based simulation model for the effects of opening up a persuasion process. Not only does openness lessen the likelihood of agreement in this example, it leads to the fai1ure of the persuasion process itself. The requirement to open meetings leads to barriers-to-agreement among decision makers which lower the possibility for decisiveness, raise the decision-making costs, increase bias, and exclude decision-makers from having an impact on collective choices. Any advantages of open meeting requirements to limit government powers must be weighed against the advantages of closed meetings in permitting decision-makers the openness to achieve agreement.