Kommentar |
In this seminar, we deal with theories of collective choice. Collective decision-making is an essential element of politics. Politicians and citizens form and express preferences and then decide collectively in elections, referenda, in parliament and in the cabinet. Social choice theory shows the problems and pitfalls when individual preferences lead to collective choices. These decisions may be vulnerable to cycling majorities and strategic voting. Moreover, institutions (e.g. electoral systems) often matter for the actual outcome. We discuss the major theoretical expectations and apply them to empirical examples. |