Elections Flashcards
What is adverse selection?
incomplete/limited information - how do we know the agents we select are competent?
What is moral hazard?
A problem of not being able to observe all actions taken by elected officials.
What does electoral competition increase?
Voter information to reduce problems like adverse selection and moral hazard.
What’s the problem with a plurality win?
Plurality rule in single member districts inflates share of seats won by largest party.
What does it take to win a district?
A plurality.
What is Duverger’s Law?
Plurality rule systems tend to have two parties.
What are strategic politicians?
Join the centralist parties because forming extreme parties helps the other side (e.g. UKIP only helps Labour)
What are strategic voters?
They don’t waste votes. Better to vote for their second choice that has a more likely chance to win compared to their first choice so that their last choice doesn’t win.
What is a way to discourage strategic politicians and voters?
Proportional representation.
