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|Authors List=Mirka Loiselle,

|Description=Hierarchical authority delegation is a sub-type of [[Multiple Authority Delegation (Loiselle-2017)|multiple authority delegation]]. It describes a situation in which a community delegates authority over some topic [[Question|question]] to multiple communities, but at different degrees of authority. Consider a case of multiple authority delegation in which either expert A OR expert B might be consulted. If the word of expert A is always accepted over the word of expert B, we have a case of hierarchical authority delegation.

Here is an example from the art world. The Modigliani ''catalogue raisonée '' by Ambrogio Ceroni is widely regarded by the art market as being the most reliable source when it comes to matters of Modigliani attribution. That being said, it is also widely accepted that the catalogue is incomplete. In 1997, Modigliani scholar Marc Restellini began creating a new catalogue raisonée for the artist. Between 1997 and 2015 (when Restellini's project was abandoned), the art market held a relationship of hierarchical authority delegation with Ceroni and Restellini. If the painting was listed in the Ceroni cateloguecatalogue, it was considered authentic, regardless of Restellini's opinion. If it was not in the Ceronic Ceroni catalogue but ''was'' considered authentic by Restellini, then it was accepted as such by the art market. The fact that both Ceroni and Restellini were valued as independent authorities makes this an instance of multiple authority delegation; the fact that Ceroni's word was valued over Restellini makes it a case of hierarchical authority delegation.