political agency

Question 1

rent-seeking

Answer 1

act of growing one’s existing wealth by manipulating environment without creating new wealth

Question 2

political agency

Answer 2

the capacity to act politically

Question 3

methods of selecting politicians (4)

Answer 3

1. drawing lots
2. heredity
3. force & coercion
4. voting

Question 4

drawing lots

Answer 4

electing candidates by chance (out of a hat)

Question 5

pros of drawing lots

Answer 5

• all citizens gain political experience
• egalitarian
• prevents factions

Question 6

drawbacks of drawing lots

Answer 6

• risk of incompetent/dishonest politicians

Question 7

heredity

Answer 7

political positions transferred by inheritance from family

Question 8

advantages of heredity

Answer 8

sovereigns think in terms of long-run

Question 9

disadvantages of heredity

Answer 9

1. no guarantee of hereditary good traits
2. bias towards the rich
3. fosters wasteful rent-seeking
4. revolution is the only discipline

Question 10

force & coercion

Answer 10

those who can gather more support using coercion (army, militias, police) are selected

Question 11

factors important in elections (4)

Answer 11

1. attractiveness
2. success
3. opportunity cost
4. accountability

Question 12

attractiveness

Answer 12

are good politicians motivated to run for office?
examples: wages, benefits, public service motivation, rents

Question 13

success

Answer 13

are good politicians likely to win?
- some voters may be willing to trade-off quality for ideology
- factors: media, primaries, competition, cultural norms

Question 14

opportunity cost

Answer 14

are the outside options of bad candidates different than those of good ones?

Question 15

accountability

Answer 15

are good politicians re-elected, and bad ones voted out?

Question 16

why does higher electoral competition lead to adverse selection on criminality? (2)

Answer 16

1. might have more undeclared cash to spend on elections
2. are better at intimidating opposition voters (poor/illiterate)

Question 17

types of seats considered in model with criminal politicians (3)

Answer 17

1. safe seats
2. competitive defensible seats
3. competitive indefensible seats

Question 18

safe seats

Answer 18

party A wins the seat even if it does not field criminals and party B does

Question 19

competitive defensible seats

Answer 19

underdog party B can swing the election if it fields a criminal candidate as long as party A doesn’t

Question 20

competitive indefensible seats

Answer 20

party B can swing the election by fielding a criminal candidate even if party A fields such a candidate

Question 21

how does a well-functioning private sector have opposing effects on candidate quality? (2)

Answer 21

1. makes public service less financially attractive
2. produces business candidates with proven competence rather than just connections

Question 22

drawbacks of accountability (2)

Answer 22

1. voters are poorly informed about politicians’ choices; media is key
2. bad politicians will adjust their behavior to mimic good ones

Question 23

pro & con of term limits

Answer 23

pro: reduce the length of a bad politician’s tenure
con: give incentives for opportunism and corruption in last term