Book Reviews

Abstract

Karine Van der Straeten of the Toulouse School of Economics and Institute for Advanced Study reviews “The Economics of Voting: Studies of Self-Interest, Bargaining, Duty and Rights,” by Dan Usher. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Examines four key terms in the economics of voting--self-interest, bargaining, duty, and rights--and presents the case that they are indispensable requirements for the maintenance of government by majority-rule voting. Discusses voting patterns; voting about the redistribution of income; determining how high the revenue-maximizing tax rate might be; bargaining and voting; bargaining unexplained; what a duty to vote is, exactly; an alternative explanation of the chance of casting a pivotal vote; the problem of equity; voting rights, property rights, and civil rights; assessing the citizen-candidate model; and the significance of the probabilistic voting theorem.”