chapter 20: Flashcards
Public Choice?
The study of political behavior using the tools of economic behavior.
Rational Ignorance?
When the benefits of being informed are less than the costs of being informed.
What is an example of rational ignorance?
- is it really worth the time to learn how your engine works to know how to fix your car when their are plenty of people who know how to fix cars.
- Politically most people have very little clue what the government spends most of their money on.
Why does rational ignorance matter?`
If voters don’t know the facts it is may difficult to make informed decisions. This is the result of rationally ignorant voters making decisions based off low quality, potentially unreliable or biased information.
What are the incentives to being an informed voter?
Understanding the way quotas and various regulations/laws allows you to understand why things costs the way the do and better prepares you to come to a conclusion based on logic.
- Ex: sugar farmers being informed on quotas regarding sugar importss.
- prevents you from paying more than you should for something like sugar. The quota on importing sugar forces Americans to pay 2-3 times more times than they should.
What is special interest?
They target the people who are making decisions (like sugar farmers) and maybe bribe or give them money as a “pat on the back” if you will for placing a particular quota.
Who benefits the most from informed on quotas in their industry?
- Domestic producers.
what is the political formula that involves cost diffusion? (describe the formula or strategy rather)
Diffuse the costs over a large number of people ad focus/concentrate on the benefits.
Ex: “oh… I saved the sugar industry”
What is the result of the diffused costs political formula ?
It frees us resources so that they may be wasted on projects with low benefits and high costs.
Ex: “The bridge to nowhere”
In what scenario do Americans typically vote for the incumbent party?
- in any climate where the economy is soaring.
also applies to the inverse
What is the theory of voter myopia?
Voters tend to look at the economic conditions of a politician only over the last 1-2 years of their term.
- Remember that myopia means short-sidedness.
- EX: Regan asking the American people are we better off now than we were fours ago… he won that election and the next by asking the same question.
What is the median voter theorem?
When voters vote for a the policy that is closest to their ideal point on a line, then the ideal point of the median voter will beat any other policy in a majority rule election.
What is suggested by the median voter theorem?
The median voter theorem suggests that policy change will occur to place yourself (the politician) most closest to the median voter, which is done via polling.
T/F the median voter theorem is a downside to democracy?
True.
Describe situations in which the median voter theorem doesn’t apply?
- ) When voters don’t vote for the policy that is closest to their ideals.
- ) There is more than one dimension over which voting takes place.
