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POLITICAL ECONOMY
Chapter 6
Political Economy
The field that applies economic principles to the analysis of political decision-making.
How well do various decision-making procedures translate the preferences of their citizens into collective action
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Direct Democracy
Unanimity Rules
r per year
0
0’
Adam’s share (SA)
Eve’s share (SE)
The Lindahl Model
r*
S*
Given efficient quantity level r* and demand curves, Adam pays 0-S* and Eve pays 0’-S*. Unanimity can result in efficient level if Lindahl price – tax share per individual – were allowed
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Feasibility of Unanimity Rules in Reaching Equilibrium
Practical problems
Strategic behavior: do people vote sincerely or under report value to escape tax liability
Time to reach equilibrium given many citizens.
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Direct Democracy
Majority Voting Rules
Majority voting rule – one more than half of the voters must favor a measure for it to be approved
However, majority voting does not always yield clear-cut results
Given the voter preferences to the right, “B” always wins against opponents
Voter
Choice Brad Jen Angelina
First A C B
Second B B C
Third C A A
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Majority Voting Does Not Always Yield Clear-Cut Results: Double- vs. Single-Peaked Preferences
Voting Paradox – Community preferences can be inconsistent even though individual’s preferences are consistent
Given new preferences at the right:
A vs. B → A wins
B vs. C → B wins
A vs. C → C wins
Agenda Manipulation – Process of organizing order of votes to ensure a favorable outcome
Cycling – when paired voting on more than two possibilities goes on indefinitely without a conclusion ever being reached
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Voter
Choice Brad Jen Angelina
First A C B
Second B A C
Third C B A
Graphing Preferences
Missiles
Utility
A
B
C
Brad
Jen
Angelina
Single-peaked preferences
Double-peaked preferences
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Practical Importance of Double-Peaked Preferences: Examples
Can occur with availability of private substitutes for a publicly provided good
Example: public park vs. private country club
Can occur with issues that can’t be ranked along single dimension
Example: abortion clinic vs.
adult bookstore vs.
Army recruitment office
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Direct Democracy
The Median Voter Theorem
As long as preferences are single peaked, the outcome of majority voting reflects the median voter preferences
Huey’s preference of $150 spending would prevail in majority voting
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Direct Democracy
Logrolling I: Welfare Improved
The trading of votes to obtain passage of a package of legislative proposals
If projects voted on 1 at a time, all lose
Hospital → only Melanie
Library → only Rhett
Pool → only Scarlet
Solution is for Melanie to vote for library if Rhett votes for hospital, etc
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Direct Democracy
Logrolling II: Welfare Lowered
Welfare lowered if vote trading leads to projects with negative net benefits being passed
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Direct Democracy
Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem
“Reasonable” collective decision-making should be logical and respect individuals’ preferences
Criteria
It can produce a decision whatever the configuration of voters' preferences
It must be able to rank all possible outcomes
It must be responsive to individuals’ preferences
It must be consistent
Independence of irrelevant alternatives
Dictatorship ruled out
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Unfortunately, all conceivable voting schemes have some potential for being unfair or producing a paradoxical result
Meaning of theorem is that a fair, consistent rule is not necessarily impossible to find, but it is not guaranteed a society will find one
Buchanan’s critique: Despite being inconsistent, majority rule has other benefits
Arrow’s theorem implies social welfare functions are useless, but most economists believe they provide valuable insights
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Direct Democracy Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem
Representative Democracy
Elected Politicians
0
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Implications of the Median Voter Model
The candidate who adopts the median position (M) will defeat the candidate who adopts the position away from the median (S)
Two-party systems tend to be stable because they stake out positions near center
Replacement of direct referenda by representative system has no effect on outcomes
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Other Factors Influencing Voting
Non-single-dimensional rankings cause median voter theorem to fall apart
Ideology
Personality
Leadership
Decision to vote
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Representative Democracy
Public Employees
Function of bureaucrats
Implement policy
Provide technical expertise in the design and execution of programs and policies
Provide “institutional memory”
Provide accurate documentation to ensure
Equal treatment for eligible citizens
Prevent corruption
Goals of bureaucrats
Fulfill wishes of electorate and representatives
Perhaps increasing power and their own perks
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Representative Democracy
Special Interests
Establishment of Special Interest Groups
Source of Income: Capital or Labor
Size of Income
Source of Income: Industry of Employment
Region
Demographic and Personal Characteristics
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Rents
Representative Democracy
Special Interests and Rent-Seeking
tons of peanuts per year
$
S=MC
D
MR
Rent: Higher than normal returns.
Rent-seeking: Using government to obtain rents
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Representative Democracy
Other Actors
Judiciary
Journalists
Experts
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Explaining Government Growth
Ratio of government expenditures to Gross Domestic Product
Sources: Pommerehne (1977); OECD (2012a)
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Explaining Government Growth
Citizen Preferences: G = f(P, I)
G=Median voter’s demand of public sector goods & services
P=Price of public sector goods and services
I=Income
Marxist View
The public sector must expand to absorb private excess production.
Chance Events
Wars, recessions
Changes in Social Attitudes
Income Redistribution
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Chapter 6 Summary
Political Economy applies economic principles to analysis of political decision-making
Majority voting in a direct democracy as a method for choosing levels of public goods includes consideration of single- vs. double-peaked preferences, logrolling, and Lindahl pricing
Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem: a fair, consistent rule is not necessarily impossible to find, but is not guaranteed
Understanding government behavior requires analysis of public employees, special interest groups and rent-seeking
The growth of government in various countries can be explained by citizen choice, random events, government’s need to absorb excess private production, ignorance of the opportunity costs of public programs, and efforts to use government to redistribute income
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