No Free Lunch: Economics for a Fallen World: Third Edition, Revised

Chapter Fourteen: Decision-making in Democracy: Public Choice 323 DESIRED LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the conclusion of this chapter, the student should be able to... § § Contrast public choice analysis with public interest analysis § § Describe the growth of government over time and relate it to our national debt § § Explain why voters are rationally ignorant and why politicians are seldom principled § § Relate why collective decision-making is more complex than private market transactions § § Recognize why and how government policies “fail,” (e.g., they do not provide the socially optimal level of regulation) § § Explain how special interest groups affect policies § § Describe how logrolling and pork-barrel legislation can lead to bad legislation § § Relate how rent seeking diverts resources from productive to socially wasteful activities § § Explain why campaign finance laws are often political barriers to entry