Transcript The Logic of American Politics

Defining American Politics
What is politics?
What happens in politics?
Systematic definition:
values, ideas, interests
conflict
the authoritative allocation of things
that people value
K&J definition for politics
Politics is the process through which
individuals and groups reach agreement
on a course of common, or collective
action – even as they continue to disagree
on the goals that action is intended to
achieve.
Why collective action? Private goods,
public goods, and reducing externalities
Organizing Collective Action
Three challenges to
collective action are
coordination
free riding
the prisoner’s dilemma
Coordination
Coordination requires that…
each member of the collectivity agrees on
what it wants,
is prepared to contribute to the collective
effort,
but must figure out how to coordinate his
or her effort with those of others.
This is especially difficult in large groups.
Free Riding
As does coordination, the problem of free
riding increases with the size of the group.
When groups are small, it is difficult for one
member not to fulfill their obligation. When he is
absent or does not contribute, fellow members
will notice. In larger groups, it is easier not to
participate, but still reap the benefits of the
larger group activity.
Examples of free riding: public television,
assigned group work, most voluntary efforts.
Questions about Free Riding
• Why do people voluntarily contribute
to neighborhood associations?
• How does government induce
contributions to collective efforts?
• Why do people join the Sierra Club?
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
The free rider problem is part of a more
general collective action problem called the
prisoner’s dilemma.
The dilemma: should you trust the other
side involved in the exchange?
The problem arises because each side, to
get something, must typically give up
something of value in return.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
Republican value 1st, Democratic value 2nd
Proposals to reform Social
Security
Democrats’ Choice
Cost in public approval to the
players for each outcome
Republicans’
Choice
Cooperate
Cooperate
-1,-1
Criticize
-10, 0
Criticize
0, -10
-5,-5
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
A key ingredient of the
prisoner’s dilemma is that each
side is better off defecting no
matter what the other side
chooses to do.
But together, they would be
better off cooperating!!
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
How, then, do people solve dilemmas in
which individual rationality produces
irrational outcomes?
Make defection expensive.
Encourage communication.
The Costs of Collective Action
Collective action offers participants
benefits they cannot achieve
individually, but there are costs.
How much must you contribute?
What about the costs of enforcing
the agreement?
The Costs of Collective Action
Two additional costs are less
obvious.
transaction costs
For example, the time and effort
required to compare preferences and
make joint decisions. These increase
when the number of participants rise.
conformity costs
The difference between what any one
person prefers and what the collectivity
actually agrees to represent.
Delegation
• One way of thinking about delegation is to
designate as principals those individuals
who possess authority (the right to make
decisions).
• Principals then delegate to agents the
authority to make and implement those
decisions for them.