Social Democracy and Rational Choice

InSocial Democracy and Rational Choice,Henry Milner presents an institutional analysis of social democratic regimes which seek distributive justice as well as optimum economic performance. Insisting that these goals are far from incompatible, Milner negotiaties the often challenging tensions which exist between efficiency and equity. Deploying the theory of rational choice to describe the behavior and interest which motivate economic, social, and cultural institutions, Milner then goes on to apply that theory to the case of "free-riders," those citizens who take advantage of the state's emphasis on distributive justice. Milner generates an array of complex checks on these tendency which he finds inherit in any system of redistributive justice and socio-economic equity. Milner's also provides a compelling comparative analysis of the US's laissez-faire and Nordic countries experience with social and economic democracy. He assesses the implications of the Europeanintergration on Nordic policy and planning in the years to come.