Week 1-4 Preparation

Question 1

What is the institutional model?

Answer 1

focuses on traditional organization of govt. Important players in extending/growing specific govt role towards policy purposes
- example : the military would never vote against itself,

Question 2

Incremental Model

Answer 2

Focuses on how public policy decisions are made and a suggestion that it is a continuation of past govt activities with minor changes.
Includes politically feasible decisions where there isn’t much opposition

Question 3

Group Theory

Answer 3

Speaks to extent of ideas that are within public domain. Because of differences in ppl (beyond demographic diff, etc..), this represents competition between special interest groups likely to result in compromise and moderation in kind of policy ideas that we adopt and implement

Question 4

Elite Model

Answer 4

Views public policy as reflecting preferences/values of power elite. Think of Karl Marx (working class)
- public policy is reflecting the powerful and well-resourced )

Question 5

Conflict Model, what examples can you think of?

Answer 5

Focuses on how big the conflict may become. Central political point is that in free society every conflict is contagious. outcome of every conflict is determined by extent to which the audience becomes involved. Example of BLM, COVID, and unemployment, ppl had time and each conflict built over the other.

Question 6

Wedge Issues

Answer 6

a political or social issue, often of a controversial or divisive nature, which splits apart a demographic or population group

Question 7

Adam Smith identified the importance of what and why?

Answer 7

Trade. Because we’re better off where trade is fostered

Question 8

What documents represent agreements in society and what is it known as?

Answer 8

Known as a social contract including Constitution, Bill of Rights, Amendments, explicit laws/ documents, etc…

Question 9

NA rights given only if they …. from their tribe

Answer 9

disassociate. example of rights given later on to different groups even with social contracts enforced

Question 10

What does the PPF help with

Answer 10

• helps summarize the possibilites

- provides menu of output choices between any 2 alternatives

Question 11

What is Nozick’s entitlement theory

Answer 11

anyone who acquired what he has through these means is morally entitled to it

Question 12

Why should governments intervene?

Answer 12

market failures - resources not allocated sufficiently.

excessive market power

externalities

Question 13

Externalities and what’s an example?

Answer 13

Externalities are the costs external to priv market transaction. Example would be environmental racism or pollution where the 3rd party faces consequences of something not into our control or what we directly contributed to.

Question 14

Example of Govt Failure

Answer 14

governments intervene but the policy does worse (example of rats - govt told ppl to collect for money, the incentive can induce breeding, unsafe protocols, etc.. but the “intention was to actually stop the infestation”)

Question 15

Rational Choice Theory

Answer 15

Speaks to voting rights

Question 16

Rational Ignorance

Answer 16

rational ignorance focuses on the cost - response to the cost of voting

Question 17

What is institutional fragmentation?

Answer 17

• growing diversity and challenges to coordination among private and public norms, treaties, and organizations that address a given issue area of international politics
• prevents concentration of power in executive branch of govt
  • last resort for govt intervention

Question 18

Fragmented Government

Answer 18

fragmented local government system is one in which there are a large number of local governments
- basically checks and balances

Question 19

What is political polarization?

Answer 19

cases in which an individual’s stance on a given issue, policy, or person is more likely to be strictly defined by their identification with a particular political party. These activists then influence politicians to become more conservative or liberal on there stances.
- example: filibuster and gerrymandering

Question 20

What’s an example of a voting scheme problem?

Answer 20

Unanimity voting - voting by consensus
- each voter has veto power
there’s also more incentive to hid true preferences or bribes

Question 21

Majority Vote, how is it a voting scheme problem?

Answer 21

It’s a choice approved on simple majority. The issue places minority rights at risk. Also doesn’t measure intensity of preference

Question 22

Voting Paradox

Answer 22

It may not generate transitive group decisions, basically the result of a vote is contradictory, or opposite of the expected outcome

Question 23

What is the Public Choice Theory

Answer 23

Focuses on Economic models of political processes

Question 24

What do Pareto improvements do for the public interest?

Answer 24

these on average advance social welfare without making others worse off - some ppl preferences satisfied

improvement to a system when a change in allocation of goods harms no one and benefits at least one person

“no brainers”

Question 25

What about Pareto Optimality

Answer 25

state at which resources in a given system are optimized in a way that one dimension cannot improve without a second worsening

Question 26

Iron Law of Wages

Answer 26

no matter what u do to assist the poor, that the poor will always make decision to reinforce their poverish state

Question 27

Keynesian Economics

Answer 27

markets//capitalism is inherently unstable

Keynes advocated for increased government expenditures and lower taxes to stimulate demand and pull the global economy out of the depression.