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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Paper Idea: The Benefits of a U.S. Multiparty System

Any well-connected reader might have noticed third-party candidate news during the last election, and I'm sure it will come up again. With movies like Man of the Year becoming more popular, the ideas of third parties and general political change are enjoyed by most of the public.

Train of thought:

  1. Third parties create political dialog through special interest proposals
  2. Third parties reduce polarization through increased choice (it's tough to be "in the middle" of three diverse groups)
  3. Legislative debate and dialog produce ideas
  4. More ideas are better than less ideas (due to increased choice)
  5. Third parties encourage public debate (in homes and/or media)
  6. Public opinion influences elected official behavior (perhaps principal-agent connection)
  7. Ideas will be "purchased" in the market through policy
  8. Only quality policy will pass the rigorous debate phase
  9. Quality policy increases voter happiness, participation
Hypotheses:
  1. Quality of policy after established third party participation increases.
  2. Quality policy increases voter participation.
Maybe:

  1. Quality policy has spillover effects: decreasing bureaucracy or its costs, increasing satisfaction, decreasing domestic unrest or terrorism, increased unemployment, efficient taxing, &c.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

It would surely offer more choice, and that is a good thing, in my book. Too much choice, of course, that's another matter, but if you were to start with, say 3 or 4 parties, it's be workable.

Don't count, however, on it as a way to decrease bureaucracy. Look at European countries that actually have a multi-party system, and the bureaucratic load (and taxes that go along with them) and you'd get the idea.

Cheers!