Status Quo Deference and Policy Choice under Ambiguity

Institutions for collective decision making often defer to the status quo, granting it a privileged position relative to proposed policy innovations. The possible benefits of status quo deference must be weighed against a cost: status quo deference can prevent a society from learning the merits of innovations. This paper explores the potential for learning through adaptive diversification of treatment choice in decision systems that feature status quo deference. I first review the basic elements of my earlier analysis of adaptive diversification by a planner and then extend the analysis to two collective decision processes, voting and bilateral negotiation.