Public choice theory applies the analytical tools of economics, especially rational self-interest, to the study of political behavior: voters, politicians and bureaucrats. Duncan Black is sometimes called the founding father of public choice for work beginning in 1948, but James M. Buchanan and Gordon Tullock developed the field most comprehensively in their 1962 book The Calculus of Consent, work for which Buchanan received the 1986 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The approach is closely associated with the Virginia School of political economy.
Facts
Start YearMarks the publication of Buchanan and Tullock's The Calculus of Consent, the field's foundational synthesis; Duncan Black's 1948 work is sometimes cited as an earlier antecedent. Core TenetGovernment officials, bureaucrats and politicians are modeled as self-interested actors pursuing their own goals, such as re-election, budget or agency growth, rather than as neutral servants of a public interest, which yields testable predictions about regulation, voting rules and bureaucratic behavior. 1 Connections
Associated Figures and Events
Frey is a Fellow of the Public Choice Society (1998), reflecting his standing work in public choice theory alongside his political-economy research.
Source Wikipedia
Buchanan co-authored The Calculus of Consent (1962) with Gordon Tullock, which first outlined public choice theory in full, and is recognized as the field's co-founder.
Source Wikipedia
Associated With
Both schools share the Bloomington/Virginia-adjacent rational-choice institutionalist tradition and analyze collective decision-making through the same methodological individualist lens.
Source Wikipedia
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationPublic choice theory
the use of economic tools to deal with traditional problems of political science
Associated Figures and Events: James M. Buchanan, James M. Buchanan, Collaboration with Gordon Tullock
Buchanan co-authored The Calculus of Consent with Gordon Tullock in 1962, which first outlined public choice theory
Associated With: Bloomington School, Bloomington school, Public Choice and Constitutional Governance section
The Bloomington School is closely aligned with public choice theory.
Associated Figures and Events: Bruno Frey, Bruno Frey, Academic honours section
Fellow der Public Choice Society
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.