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BEYOND PUBLIC CHOICE and PUBLIC INTEREST: a STUDY of the LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AS ILLUSTRATED by TAX LEGISLATION in the 1980S
University of Pennsylvania Law Review FOUNDED 1852 Formerly American Law Register VOL. 139 NOVEMBER 1990 No. 1 ARTICLES BEYOND PUBLIC CHOICE AND PUBLIC INTEREST: A STUDY OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS AS ILLUSTRATED BY TAX LEGISLATION IN THE 1980s DANIEL SHAVIRO" TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ................................. 3 II. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF CYCLICAL TAX LEGISLATION ... 11 A. Legislation From the Beginning of the Income Tax Through the 1970s: The Evolution of Tax Instrumentalism and Tax Reform ..................................... 11 t Assistant Professor, University of Chicago Law School. The author was a Legislation Attorney with theJoint Committee of Taxation during the enactment of the 1986 tax bill discussed in this Article. He is grateful to Walter Blum, Richard Posner, Cass Sunstein, and the participants in a Harvard Law School seminar on Current Research in Taxation, held in Chatham, Massachusetts on August 23-26, 1990, for helpful comments on earlier drafts, to Joanne Fay and Michael Bonarti for research assistance, and to the WalterJ. Blum Faculty Research Fund and the Kirkland & Ellis Faculty Fund for financial support. 2 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 139: 1 B. The 1981 Act and Its Aftermath ................... 19 C. The 1986 Act ............................... 23 D. Aftermath of the 198.6 Act ......................... 29 E. Summary .................................. 30 III. THE PUBLIC INTEREST THEORY OF LEGISLATION ........ 31 A. The Various Strands of Public Interest Theory .......... 31 1. Public Interest Theory in Economics ............ 31 2. The Pluralist School in Political Science .......... 33 3. Ideological Views of the Public Interest .......... 35 B. Criticisms of PublicInterest Theory .................. 36 1. (Largely Theoretical) Criticisms by Economists ... 36 a. When Everyone "Wins," Everyone May Lose .. -
The Illusory Distinction Between Equality of Opportunity and Equality of Result
University of Chicago Law School Chicago Unbound Journal Articles Faculty Scholarship 1992 The Illusory Distinction between Equality of Opportunity and Equality of Result David A. Strauss Follow this and additional works at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/journal_articles Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation David A. Strauss, "The Illusory Distinction between Equality of Opportunity and Equality of Result," 34 William and Mary Law Review 171 (1992). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Chicago Unbound. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal Articles by an authorized administrator of Chicago Unbound. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ILLUSORY DISTINCTION BETWEEN EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND EQUALITY OF RESULT DAVID A. STRAUSS* I. INTRODUCTION "Our society should guarantee equality of opportunity, but not equality of result." One hears that refrain or its equivalent with increasing frequency. Usually it is part of a general attack on gov- ernment measures that redistribute wealth, or specifically on af- firmative action, that is, race- and gender-conscious efforts to im- prove the status of minorities and women. The idea appears to be that the government's role is to ensure that everyone starts off from the same point, not that everyone ends up in the same condi- tion. If people have equal opportunities, what they make of those opportunities is their responsibility. If they end up worse off, the government should not intervene to help them.1 In this Article, I challenge the usefulness of the distinction be- tween equality of opportunity and equality of result. -
Introduction to Computational Social Choice
1 Introduction to Computational Social Choice Felix Brandta, Vincent Conitzerb, Ulle Endrissc, J´er^omeLangd, and Ariel D. Procacciae 1.1 Computational Social Choice at a Glance Social choice theory is the field of scientific inquiry that studies the aggregation of individual preferences towards a collective choice. For example, social choice theorists|who hail from a range of different disciplines, including mathematics, economics, and political science|are interested in the design and theoretical evalu- ation of voting rules. Questions of social choice have stimulated intellectual thought for centuries. Over time the topic has fascinated many a great mind, from the Mar- quis de Condorcet and Pierre-Simon de Laplace, through Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland), to Nobel Laureates such as Kenneth Arrow, Amartya Sen, and Lloyd Shapley. Computational social choice (COMSOC), by comparison, is a very young field that formed only in the early 2000s. There were, however, a few precursors. For instance, David Gale and Lloyd Shapley's algorithm for finding stable matchings between two groups of people with preferences over each other, dating back to 1962, truly had a computational flavor. And in the late 1980s, a series of papers by John Bartholdi, Craig Tovey, and Michael Trick showed that, on the one hand, computational complexity, as studied in theoretical computer science, can serve as a barrier against strategic manipulation in elections, but on the other hand, it can also prevent the efficient use of some voting rules altogether. Around the same time, a research group around Bernard Monjardet and Olivier Hudry also started to study the computational complexity of preference aggregation procedures. -
Social Choice Theory Christian List
1 Social Choice Theory Christian List Social choice theory is the study of collective decision procedures. It is not a single theory, but a cluster of models and results concerning the aggregation of individual inputs (e.g., votes, preferences, judgments, welfare) into collective outputs (e.g., collective decisions, preferences, judgments, welfare). Central questions are: How can a group of individuals choose a winning outcome (e.g., policy, electoral candidate) from a given set of options? What are the properties of different voting systems? When is a voting system democratic? How can a collective (e.g., electorate, legislature, collegial court, expert panel, or committee) arrive at coherent collective preferences or judgments on some issues, on the basis of its members’ individual preferences or judgments? How can we rank different social alternatives in an order of social welfare? Social choice theorists study these questions not just by looking at examples, but by developing general models and proving theorems. Pioneered in the 18th century by Nicolas de Condorcet and Jean-Charles de Borda and in the 19th century by Charles Dodgson (also known as Lewis Carroll), social choice theory took off in the 20th century with the works of Kenneth Arrow, Amartya Sen, and Duncan Black. Its influence extends across economics, political science, philosophy, mathematics, and recently computer science and biology. Apart from contributing to our understanding of collective decision procedures, social choice theory has applications in the areas of institutional design, welfare economics, and social epistemology. 1. History of social choice theory 1.1 Condorcet The two scholars most often associated with the development of social choice theory are the Frenchman Nicolas de Condorcet (1743-1794) and the American Kenneth Arrow (born 1921). -
Speaking “Truth” to Biopower
4.BLOOM.MACRO.12.29.11 (DO NOT DELETE) 1/20/2012 11:46 AM SPEAKING “TRUTH” TO BIOPOWER Anne Bloom* INTRODUCTION Left-leaning plaintiffs‟ lawyers sometimes describe their work as “Speaking Truth to Power.”1 The “Truth” they speak usually involves tales of government or corporate wrongdoing, while the power they confront is usually institutional.2 I am a long-time supporter of the plaintiffs‟ bar and believe that the work that they are doing is important. At the same time, I would like to propose an alternative way of “Speaking Truth to Power” that involves somewhat different understandings of both truth and power. I call this strategy “Speaking „Truth‟ to Biopower.” “Speaking „Truth‟ to Biopower” is a pragmatic strategy for legal activism that incorporates postmodern insights regarding the nature of both “truth” and “power.” “Truth” is in quotes to emphasize its contingency – the impossibility of understanding what truth means outside of a particular political and social context. “Biopower” replaces “Power” to highlight the ways in which the body is a key site of contestation in contemporary political struggles.3 While these insights are postmodern,4 the strategy I propose is not. Instead of rejecting legal arguments that rely upon foundational beliefs or “truths” (as would be characteristic of a postmodern approach),5 I argue it is more useful to strategically deploy legal “truths” in * Professor of Law, the University of the Pacific/McGeorge School of Law. Thanks to Danielle Hart for her efforts in putting together this symposium and for her comments on earlier versions of this essay. -
JUL 2 0 2006 C 2005 Sunil Tankha
The Risk of Reform: Privatisation and Liberalisation in the Brazilian Electric Power Industry by Sunil Tankha Master in Public Affairs The University of Texas at Austin, 1997 Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT at the MA SSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY OF TE February 2006 JUL 2 0 2006 C 2005 Sunil Tankha. All rights reserved. LIBRA RIES The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this these document in whole or in part. Signature of A uthor ................................................ Department of Urban Studies and Planning August 22, 2005 C ertified by ......................................... / Ali'e AmNden Professor of Political Economy Dissertation Chair Accepted by ................ Frank Levy Chair, Ph.D. Program The Risk of Reform: Privatisation and Liberalisation in the Brazilian Electric Power Industry by Sunil Tankha Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Economy ABSTRACT In 1996, when Brazil was well-underway to privatising and liberalising its electric power industry, few would have predicted that within five years the reforms would be a shambles. Like its nighbours Argentina and Chile, Brazil based its electricity reforms on the orthodox therapies of privatisation and liberalisation. The industry was well-positioned to benefit from the reforms: it was technically sophisticated, relatively efficient, and attractive to both domestic and foreign investors. Electricity rates had been suppressed for a long time, but they were not populist and it was the residential customer who cross-subsidised industry. -
Social Choice (6.154.11)
SOCIAL CHOICE (6.154.11) Norman Scho…eld Center in Political Economy Washington University in Saint Louis, MO 63130 USA Phone: 314 935 4774 Fax: 314 935 4156 E-mail: scho…[email protected] Key words: Impossibility Theorem, Cycles, Nakamura Theorem, Voting.. Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Rational Choice 1.2 The Theory of Social Choice 1.3 Restrictions on the Set of Alternatives 1.4 Structural Stability of the Core 2 Social Choice 2.1 Preference Relations 2.2 Social Preference Functions 2.3 Arrowian Impossibility Theorems 2.4 Power and Rationality 2.5 Choice Functions 3 Voting Rules 3.1 Simple Binary Preferences Functions 3.2 Acyclic Voting Rules on Restricted Sets of Alternatives 4 Conclusion Acknowledgement Glossary Bibliography 1 Summary Arrows Impossibility implies that any social choice procedure that is rational and satis…es the Pareto condition will exhibit a dictator, an individual able to control social decisions. If instead all that we require is the procedure gives rise to an equilibrium, core outcome, then this can be guaranteed by requiring a collegium, a group of individuals who together exercise a veto. On the other hand, any voting rule without a collegium is classi…ed by a number,v; called the Nakumura number. If the number of alternatives does not exceed v; then an equilibrium can always be guaranteed. In the case that the alternatives comprise a subset of Euclden spce, of dimension w; then an equilibrium can be guaranteed as long as w v 2: In general, however, majority rule has Nakumura number of 3, so an equilibrium can only be guaranteed in one dimension. -
Neoliberal Reason and Its Forms: Depoliticization Through Economization∗
Neoliberal reason and its forms: Depoliticization through economization∗ Yahya M. Madra Department of Economics Boğaziçi University Bebek, 34342, Istanbul, Turkey [email protected] Yahya M. Madra studied economics in Istanbul and Amherst, Massachusetts. He has taught at the universities of Massachusetts and Boğaziçi, and at Skidmore and Gettysburg Colleges. He currently conducts research in history of modern economics at Boğaziçi University with the support of TÜBITAK-BIDEB Scholarship. His work appeared in Journal of Economic Issues, Rethinking Marxism, The European Journal of History of Economic Thought, Psychoanalysis, Society, Culture and Subjectivity as well as edited volumes. His current research is on the role of subjectivity in political economy of capitalism and post-capitalism. and Fikret Adaman Department of Economics, Boğaziçi University Bebek, 34342, Istanbul, Turkey [email protected] Fikret Adaman studied economics in Istanbul and Manchester. He has been lecturing at Boğaziçi University on political economy, ecological economics and history of economics. His work appeared in Journal of Economic Issues, New Left Review, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Economy and Society, Ecological Economics, The European Journal of History of Economic Thought, Energy Policy and Review of Political Economy as well as edited volumes. His current research is on the political ecology of Turkey. DRAFT: Istanbul, October 3, 2012 ∗ Earlier versions of this paper have been presented in departmental and faculty seminars at Gettysburg College, Uludağ University, Boğaziçi University, İstanbul University, University of Athens, and New School University. The authors would like to thank the participants of those seminars as well as to Jack Amariglio, Michel Callon, Pat Devine, Harald Hagemann, Stavros Ioannides, Ayşe Mumcu, Ceren Özselçuk, Maliha Safri, Euclid Tsakalatos, Yannis Varoufakis, Charles Weise, and Ünal Zenginobuz for their thoughtful comments and suggestions on the various versions of this paper. -
Why Creative Workers' Attitudes May Reinforce Social Inequality
This is a repository copy of ‘Culture is a meritocracy’: Why creative workers’ attitudes may reinforce social inequality. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/121610/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Taylor, M.R. orcid.org/0000-0001-5943-9796 and O'Brien, D. (2017) ‘Culture is a meritocracy’: Why creative workers’ attitudes may reinforce social inequality. Sociological Research Online. ISSN 1360-7804 https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780417726732 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Culture is a meritocracy: Why Abstract The attitudes and values of cultural and creative workers are an important element of explaining current academic interest in inequality and culture. To date, quantitative approaches to this element of cultural and creative inequality has been overlooked, particularly in British research. This paper investigates the attitudes of those working in creative jobs with a unique dataset, a web survey of creative Using principal components analysis and regression, we have three main findings. -
Nathan Glazer—Merit Before Meritocracy - the American Interest
Nathan Glazer—Merit Before Meritocracy - The American Interest https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/04/03/nathan-glazer-... https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/04/03/nathan-glazer-merit-before-meritocracy/ WHAT ONCE WAS Nathan Glazer—Merit Before Meritocracy PETER SKERRY The perambulating path of this son of humble Jewish immigrants into America’s intellectual and political elites points to how much we have overcome—and lost—over the past century. The death of Nathan Glazer in January, a month before his 96th birthday, has been rightly noted as the end of an era in American political and intellectual life. Nat Glazer was the last exemplar of what historian Christopher Lasch would refer to as a “social type”: the New York intellectuals, the sons and daughters of impoverished, almost exclusively Jewish immigrants who took advantage of the city’s public education system and then thrived in the cultural and political ferment that from the 1930’s into the 1960’s made New York the leading metropolis of the free world. As Glazer once noted, the Marxist polemics that he and his fellow students at City College engaged in afforded them unique insights into, and unanticipated opportunities to interpret, Soviet communism to the rest of America during the Cold War. Over time, postwar economic growth and political change resulted in the relative decline of New York and the emergence of Washington as the center of power and even glamor in American life. Nevertheless, Glazer and his fellow New York intellectuals, relocated either to major universities around the country or to Washington think tanks, continued to exert remarkable influence over both domestic and foreign affairs. -
1 Social Choice Or Collective Decision-Making: What Is Politics All About?
1 Social Choice or Collective Decision-making: What Is Politics All About?1 (penultimate draft) Thomas Mulligan Georgetown University Abstract: Sometimes citizens disagree about political matters, but a decision must be made. We have two theoretical frameworks for resolving political disagreement. The first is the framework of social choice. In it, our goal is to treat parties to the dispute fairly, and there is no sense in which some are right and the others wrong. The second framework is that of collective decision- making. Here, we do believe that preferences are truth-apt, and our moral consideration is owed not to those who disagree, but to the community that stands to benefit or suffer from their decision. In this essay, I consider whether political disagreements are conflicts between incommensurable values or imperfections in our collective search for truth. I conclude two things. First, analysis of real-world disagreement suggests that collective decision-making is the right way to model politics. In most, possibly even all, political disagreements, all parties believe, if implicitly, that there is an objective standard of correctness. Second, this matter is connected to the concept of pluralism. If pluralism is true, then collective decision-making cannot be applied to some political disagreements. More surprisingly, pluralism may rule out the applicability of social choice theory, as well. Resolving disagreement is both a central challenge for our politics and one of its greatest gifts. It is rare that a policy commands anything like consensus; different special interest groups have different desires; and the elements of government compete among themselves for limited resources. -
Introduction to Public Choice Theory Public Choice Theory Politicians As Economic Agents Median Voter Theorem PPE 101 Voters As Economic Agents
Contents: Review Theories of Economic Justice Introduction to Public Choice Theory Public Choice Theory Politicians as Economic Agents Median Voter Theorem PPE 101 Voters as Economic Agents Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism: One that maximizes overall “utility” Maximize overall “utility” (wellbeing, Theories of (wellbeing, happiness, pleasure, etc.) Theories of happiness, pleasure, etc.) Economic Rawls: Economic Rawls: One that protects basic liberties and Protect basic liberties and allow Justice allows inequalities only insofar as Justice inequalities only insofar as they they benefit the least advantaged. What is a Just Distribution? What Should the Government benefit the least advantaged. Nozick: do? Nozick: One that results from wholly Should protect individual rights, voluntary transactions and just enforce contracts, provide protection. initial acquisitions. Introduction to Introduction to Public Choice Public Choice Theory Theory Public Choice Theory: What is it? What Moves Public Choice Theory: The application of economic Politics? methods to the study of political processes. What Moves Politics? Anthony Downs American Economist Public Choice Theory: Politicians - Every agent in the division of labor has a private motive (self-interest) and a social function (the role they play within their institution). - Politics is not exempt. - Politicians pursue private motives and, in the process (if the political institutions are designed appropriately), serve a social function that benefits others. Under perfect information, Under conditions of imperfect - Voters elect those who will information, benefit them. Public Choice Public Choice - Politicians do not know what - Government expects voters to voters want. vote based on how policies affect Theory Theory - Voters don’t know what them. politicians are doing, will do, or The Argument, Part I - The opposition offers The Argument, Part II should be doing.