Preferences, Institutions, and Rational Choice

Rational choice theory has gained considerable influence in politics and sociology over the past thirty years; the use of rational choice methods has proliferated in all areas of social inquiry. From the early days of formal proofs and unrealistic assumptions, rational choice is increasingly being used to model authentic situations and institutions. The collection of essays from leading British writers in the rational choice paradigm concentrates upon the two key aspects of rational choice: the role of preferences and institutions.

Preface	p. vii
List of Figures	p. xi
List of Tables	p. xii
List of Contributors	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Notes	p. 16
The Paradox of Voting and the Theory of Social Evolution	p. 20
Notes	p. 37
Interpreting Formal Coalition Theory	p. 43
Notes	p. 58
The Rational Basis for Belief in the Democratic Myth	p. 60
Notes	p. 87
Working for Benefits: Rational Choice and Work-Welfare Programmes	p. 89
Notes	p. 109
Party Competition in Interlinked Political Markets: The European Union and Its Member States	p. 114
Notes	p. 130
Railway Regulation as a Test-Bed of Rational Choice	p. 134
Notes	p. 155
Rational Decision in International Crises: A Rationalization	p. 162
Conclusion	p. 176
Notes	p. 177
The Buck in Your Bank is Not a Vote for Free Trade: Financial Intermediation and Trade Preferences in the United States and Germany	p. 179
Notes	p. 203
The Internal Balance of Power and Relative Economic Decline	p. 211
Conclusion	p. 238
Appendix: Formal Definitions of Viable Threat, Counter-Threat, and System Stability	p. 240
Notes	p. 240
Rationality, Revolution, and Reassurance	p. 249
Introduction	p. 249
Conclusions	p. 260
Notes	p. 262
Bibliography	p. 266
Index	p. 285
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Preferences, Institutions, and Rational Choice

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