The Political Economy of Democracy and Tyranny
Title | The Political Economy of Democracy and Tyranny PDF eBook |
Author | Norman Schofield |
Publisher | De Gruyter Oldenbourg |
Pages | 358 |
Release | 2009 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN |
One theme that has emerged from the recent literature on political economy concerns the transition to democracy: why would dominant elites give up oligarchic power? This book addresses the fundamental question of democratic stability and the collapse of tyranny by considering a formal model of democracy and tyranny. The formal model is used to study elections in developed polities such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, and Israel, as well as complex developing polities such as Turkey. The key idea is that activist groups may offer resources to political candidates if they in turn adjust their polities in favor of the interest group. In polities that use a "first past the post" electoral system, such as the US, the bargaining between interest groups and candidates creates a tendency for activist groups to coalesce; in polities such as Israel and the Netherlands, where the electoral system is very proportional, there may be little tendency for activist coalescence. A further feature of the model is that candidates, or political leaders, like Barack Obama, with high intrinsic charisma, or valence, will be attracted to the electoral center, while less charismatic leaders will move to the electoral periphery. This aspect of the model is used to compare the position taking and exercise of power of authoritarian leaders in Portugal, Argentina and the Soviet Union. The final chapter of the book suggests that the chaos that may be induced by climate change and rapid population growth can only be addressed by concerted action directed by a charismatic leader of the Atlantic democracies.
Political Economy of Institutions, Democracy and Voting
Title | Political Economy of Institutions, Democracy and Voting PDF eBook |
Author | Norman Schofield |
Publisher | Springer Science & Business Media |
Pages | 426 |
Release | 2011-06-11 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 3642195199 |
This book presents the latest research in the field of Political Economy, dealing with the integration of economics and politics and the way institutions affect social decisions. The authors are eminent scholars from the U.S., Canada, Britain, Spain, Italy, Mexico and the Philippines. Many of them have been influenced by Nobel laureate Douglass North, who pioneered the new institutional social sciences, or by William H. Riker who contributed to the field of positive political theory. The book focuses on topics such as: case studies in institutional analysis; research on war and the formation of states; the analysis of corruption; new techniques for analyzing elections, involving game theory and empirical methods; comparing elections under plurality and proportional rule, and in developed and new democracies.
After War
Title | After War PDF eBook |
Author | Christopher J. Coyne |
Publisher | Stanford University Press |
Pages | 256 |
Release | 2008 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 9780804754392 |
Post-conflict reconstruction is one of the most pressing political issues today. This book uses economics to analyze critically the incentives and constraints faced by various actors involved in reconstruction efforts. Through this analysis, the book will aid in understanding why some reconstructions are more successful than others.
Behavioral Political Economy and Democratic Theory
Title | Behavioral Political Economy and Democratic Theory PDF eBook |
Author | Petr Špecián |
Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
Pages | 181 |
Release | 2022-06-08 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1000598543 |
Drawing on current debates at the frontiers of economics, psychology, and political philosophy, this book explores the challenges that arise for liberal democracies from a confrontation between modern technologies and the bounds of human rationality. With the ongoing transition of democracy’s underlying information economy into the digital space, threats of disinformation and runaway political polarization have been gaining prominence. Employing the economic approach informed by behavioral sciences’ findings, the book’s chief concern is how these challenges can be addressed while preserving a commitment to democratic values and maximizing the epistemic benefits of democratic decision-making. The book has two key strands: it provides a systematic argument for building a behaviorally informed theory of democracy; and it examines how scientific knowledge on quirks and bounds of human rationality can inform the design of resilient democratic institutions. Drawing these together, the book explores the centrality of the rationality assumption in the methodological debates surrounding behavioral sciences as exemplified by the dispute between neoclassical and behavioral economics; the role of (ir)rationality in democratic social choice; behaviorally informed paternalism as a response to the challenge of irrationality; and non-paternalistic avenues to increase the resilience of the democratic institutions toward political irrationality. This book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in behavioral economics and sciences, political philosophy, and the future of democracy.
Capitalism and Democracy
Title | Capitalism and Democracy PDF eBook |
Author | Thomas A. Spragens, Jr. |
Publisher | University of Notre Dame Pess |
Pages | 319 |
Release | 2021-03-01 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 0268200157 |
This book serves as an introduction to the ongoing political debate about the relationship of capitalism and democracy. In recent years, the ideological battles between advocates of free markets and minimal government, on the one hand, and adherents of greater democratic equality and some form of the welfare state, on the other hand, have returned in full force. Anyone who wants to make sense of contemporary American politics and policy battles needs to have some understanding of the divergent beliefs and goals that animate this debate. In Capitalism and Democracy, Thomas A. Spragens, Jr., examines the opposing sides of the free market versus welfare state debate through the lenses of political economy, moral philosophy, and political theory. He asks: Do unchecked markets maximize prosperity, or do they at times produce wasteful and damaging outcomes? Are market distributions morally appropriate, or does fairness require some form of redistribution? Would a society of free markets and minimal government be the best kind of society possible, or would it have serious problems? After leading the reader through a series of thought experiments designed to compare and clarify the thought processes and beliefs held by supporters of each side, Spragens explains why there are no definitive answers to these questions. He concludes, however, that some answers are better than others, and he explains why his own judgement is that a vigorous free marketplace provides great benefits to a democratic society, both economically and politically, but that it also requires regulation and supplementation by collective action for a society to maximize prosperity, to mitigate some of the unfairness of the human condition, and to be faithful to important democratic purposes and ideals. This engaging and accessible book will interest students and scholars of political economy, democratic theory, and theories of social justice. It will also appeal to general readers who are seeking greater clarity and understanding of contemporary debates about government's role in the economy.
The American Political Economy
Title | The American Political Economy PDF eBook |
Author | Jacob S. Hacker |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 487 |
Release | 2021-11-11 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 1316516369 |
Drawing together leading scholars, the book provides a revealing new map of the US political economy in cross-national perspective.
Decadent Developmentalism
Title | Decadent Developmentalism PDF eBook |
Author | Matthew M. Taylor |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 385 |
Release | 2020-11-12 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1108842283 |
Complementarities between political and economic institutions have kept Brazil in a low-level economic equilibrium since 1985.