Public Choice And The Challenges Of Democracy

Democracy has long been established as an enduring and stable system of governance in advanced developed countries. In more recent years, however, social, cultural and political divides have emerged that threaten the democratic way of life, emphasizing the vulnerability of even the most successful political regimes. This timely and important volume addresses the serious challenges faced by democracy in contemporary society.

With contributions from some of the world’s most prestigious scholars of public choice and political science, this comprehensive collection presents a complete overview of the threats democracy must confront, by both contesting accepted ideas and offering new approaches. Employing both theoretical and empirical evidence, the book tackles a broad range of concerns including the inherent problems of democratic life, faulty institutional arrangements, defective voting rules and fiscal issues that affect the ability to govern democratic nations. It will undoubtedly be a significant addition to the current literature.

Presenting original and enlightening perspectives on the theory of democracy, this volume will be a fascinating read for students and scholars of public choice, public finance and public economics. It will also find appeal amongst political scientists and government policymakers.

Contents:

INTRODUCTION
by José Casas Pardo and Pedro Schwartz

PART I: GENERAL PROBLEMS OF DEMOCRACY
1. Threats Democracy Faces: An Overview
José Casas Pardo

2. Social Justice Examined: With a Little Help from Adam Smith
Anthony de Jasay

3. Affective Public Choice
Frans van Winden

4. Bentham and Public Choice: Utility, Interests and the Agency Problem in Democracy
Pedro Schwartz

PART II: INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF DEMOCRACY
5. Towards a More Consistent Design of Parliamentary Democracy and its Consequences for the European Union
Charles B. Blankart and Dennis C. Mueller

6. Democracy, Citizen Sovereignty and Constitutional Economics
Viktor J. Vanberg

7. Diffuse and Popular Interests versus Concentrated Interests: The Fate of Environmental Policies in Divided Government
Giorgio Brosio

8. Should the Democratic Model Be Applied to Non-Governmental Organizations and Firms?
Pascal Salin

9. Citizenship and Democracy in International Organizations
Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer

10. Law and Economic Development: Common Law versus Civil Law
Francisco Cabrillo

PART III: VOTING ISSUES
11. A Reformulation of Voting Theory
William A. Niskanen

12. Informational Limits to Public Policy: Ignorance and the Jury Theorem
Roger D. Congleton

13. Democratic Decision, Stability of Outcome and Agent Power, with Special Reference to the European Union
Manfred J. Holler and Stefan Napel

14. The Unequal Treatment of Voters Under a Single Transferable Vote: Implications for Electoral Welfare with an Application to the 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly Elections
Vani K. Borooah

PART IV: DEMOCRACY ACROSS THE WORLD
15. The Pattern of Democracy in the Twentieth Century: A Study of the Polity Index
Peter Sandholt Jensen and Martin Paldam

16. Democracy in Low-Income Countries
Arye L. Hillman

PART V: FISCAL ISSUES AND DEMOCRACY
17. A Theory of the Democratic Fiscal Constitution
Francesco Forte and Domenico D’Amico

18. (When) Do Tax Increases Cause Electoral Damage? The Case of Local Property Taxes in Spain
Núria Bosch Roca and Albert Solé-Ollé

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
19. The Mystery of Brazil
Gordon Tullock

Index