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Explore the self-interest and rationality of political actors and the problems they face when trying to govern themselves. Learn about coordination problems, prisoners' dilemmas, and the solutions to these collective action problems. Understand the role of institutions, laws, and rules in shaping individual behavior.
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Based on those assumptions, what can we deduce about the kinds of problems that people are going to run into when trying to govern themselves (and each other)?
Collective Action Problems • Definition: Problems that arise when a group of people tries to reach and implement agreements. Two types: • Coordination problems • Prisoners’ Dilemmas
Coordination Problems • Group members have to decide what they want, what they will contribute to get it, and how to coordinate to achieve their goal • Why is this hard to do? • How can we solve these problems?
What are some costs individuals must pay to achieve collective ends? • Transaction costs • Conformity costs • Why is there a tradeoff between them?
Solve coordination problems through: • Rules (majority rule) • Delegation • Shared focal points
How does Congress face collective action problems?How does it solve them?
Congress’ collective action solutions • Coordination problems • Designate a “traffic cop” (committee chairs, Rules committee/Majority leader) • Resolving conflict • Delegate authority to negotiate to party leaders • Transaction costs of legislating • Following established rules • House and Senate solve these problems differently! • House: higher conformity costs, low transaction costs • Senate: high transaction costs, lower conformity costs
Public Goods • Private goods: things people buy and consume themselves • Available in a marketplace that supplies goods according to demand • Public goods: anyone can freely consume once they are provided, no one can be excluded from their benefits • Generally must be supplied through collective action; costs of provision borne collectively
The Prisoner’s Dilemma • There is a collective good that benefits everyone in a group • It is not in any one person’s private interest to help provide it
Prisoner’s Dilemma • Each prisoner given this choice: • If your buddy rats on you, • You get 15 years if you keep quiet • You get 8 years if you rat him out. • If your buddy does not rat you out, • You both get 1 year if you keep quiet • You get off scot free if you rat him out
Prisoners’ Dilemmas • Free rider problem • Individual contribution small • Get benefits whether or not you contribute • Private incentive to shirk
Prisoners’ Dilemmas • Tragedy of the commons • Collective good exists but can be depleted or destroyed by overuse • It is in everyone’s private interest to overuse
Solutions to prisoners’ dilemmas • Rules, rewards, and punishments that link private incentive to public good
The Logic of Politics • Assume political actors are rational and self-interested. • If you understand the incentives faced by a political actor, you can understand his behavior. • Therefore, by manipulating his or her private incentives, you can thereby change his or her behavior. • Institutions, laws, and rules change individuals’ private incentives.
