-period welfare is higher if voting records remain secret because transparency induces less efficient committee members to vote in a …We propose a two-period model of a committee with sequentially voting members, who may differ in their degree of … efficiency. In this model we examine whether the publication of the committee's voting records is desirable. We show that first …

We use a change in the voting procedures of one of the two chambers of the Swiss parliament to explore how transparency … affects the voting behavior of its members. Until 2013, the Council of States (Ständerat) had voted by a show of hands. While …-consuming screening of online videos. In 2014, halfway through the legislative period, the chamber switched to electronic voting. Since …

decision by mitigating a voting externality. Hence, institutions may adopt public voting when the fear of blame is too little …We examine the consequences of vote transparency in committees whose members fear being blamed by partisan observers …, and secret voting when the fear is too much. We also show that public voting is particularly desirable in committees with …