An Economic Theory of DemocracyThis book seeks to elucidate its subject-the governing of democratic state-by making intelligible the party politics of democracies. Downs treats this differently than do other students of politics. His explanations are systematically related to, and deducible from, precisely stated assumptions about the motivations that attend the decisions of voters and parties and the environment in which they act. He is consciously concerned with the economy in explanation, that is, with attempting to account for phenomena in terms of a very limited number of facts and postulates. He is concerned also with the central features of party politics in any democratic state, not with that in the United States or any other single country. |
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Page 78
... decision - maker acquires , the more confident of making the right decision he becomes . And the more confident he is , the less he must discount the gains from being right in planning his overall allocation of resources . Therefore ...
... decision - maker acquires , the more confident of making the right decision he becomes . And the more confident he is , the less he must discount the gains from being right in planning his overall allocation of resources . Therefore ...
Page 207
... decision - making . Though this process does not exist in a " perfectly informed " world , we shall see that in any realistic model it radically affects the whole decision - making procedure . Objectives In this chapter we attempt to ...
... decision - making . Though this process does not exist in a " perfectly informed " world , we shall see that in any realistic model it radically affects the whole decision - making procedure . Objectives In this chapter we attempt to ...
Page 211
... decision - making because of the pressure of events . These conditions impose the necessity of selection upon all decision- makers , who must choose from the vast supply of data that exist only a limited number to use in their decisions ...
... decision - making because of the pressure of events . These conditions impose the necessity of selection upon all decision- makers , who must choose from the vast supply of data that exist only a limited number to use in their decisions ...
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Common terms and phrases
abstain alternatives analysis assume assumption axiom basic benefits cause ceteris paribus citizen X coalition competition conclusion cost of voting decision-making democracy Derived from Chapter discount distribution of voters division of labor economic theory economists effect election period electorate equal ernment exist extremist fact favor free information free market gain goals government action government policy government's groups hence ideologies incumbents indifferent individual influence irrational issue Kenneth Arrow marginal cost marginal equilibrium maximize means ment motives multiparty system oligopoly opposition parties outcome Paretian optimum party differential party's pay-off political information political parties position possible preferences problem Proposition rational citizen rational voter real world reason reëlected return from voting scale selection principles social society strategy tion two-party system uncertainty utility functions utility income V. O. Key views vote-selling voting decision welfare Welfare Economics well-informed zero