3.1. Voting I: Preference Aggregation & Cycling - Readings

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Required Reading:

• Holcombe (2016), Advanced Introduction to Public Choice, Chs. 2,3,5

We will not have a discussion today, you do not need to email questions. This material will be a bit more dense and technical, and I will lecture for the full period. However, doing the reading will also be very helpful, even though you will not be graded on it in any way.

Tips and Questions to Read for:

• How can we measure voters’ preferences?

• What are the assumptions of the Median Voter Theorem?

• Why do political rivals often propose very similar policies? Why can’t extreme candidates or Third Parties win?

• What are the major differences in electoral systems (e.g. proportional vs. plurality, parliamentary vs. presidential)?

• How might votes “cycle?”