Instructor: Hannu Nurmi
Course Description:
The course gives an introduction to and over-view of the basic problems, concepts and results of
rational and social choice theory by applying these to the political system of Finland. Particular attention is paid to voting and electoral institutions. The recent developments in Finnish politics following the accession to the European Union are also traced and analyzed. No background knowlege in either social choice theory or Finnish politics is assumed.
Grading and Assignments:
There will be two examinations: one-hour midterm one and a comprehensive final exam. The grading is:
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
below 60 = F.
Each student is expected to give one 10-15 minute presentation on a chosen subject. The literature for presentations is listed below. The less accessible items - marked with * - are available from the instructor. Items marked with ** are technical and make relatively difficult reading.
Allocation of grades:
- midterm exam 30%
- presentation 20%
- final exam 50%
Program:
Week 40: Introduction
- Description of the Finnish political system
- Rational choice, social choice and formal theory: an introduction
Literature: S. Berglund, `Finland in a comparative perspective'(*) and D. Anckar, `Democracy in Finland: The constitutional framework', (*) in J. Sundberg and S. Berglund, eds, Finnish Democracy, Helsinki: The Finnish Political Science Association 1990 , chapter 2 of H. Nurmi, Rational Behaviour and the Design of Institutions, Cheltenham and Northampton: Edward Elgar 1998.
Week 41: Voting procedures
- Criteria for voting system assessment
- Every method has its drawbacks
Literature: Chapter 8 of I. McLean, Public Choice: An Introduction, Oxford: Basil Blackwell 1987, Chapter 4 of W. H. Riker, Liberalism against Populism, San Francisco: Freeman 1982, H. Nurmi, `Problems of voting procedure', (*) in Academia Scientiarum Fennica: Yearbook 1984-1985, 183-189.
Week 42: Finnish voting procedures
- Parliamentary voting procedure
- First-past-the-post system
- The presidential election system
- Other procedures
Literature: D. Anckar, `Presidential elections in Finland: A plea for approval voting', Electoral Studies, 1984, 125-138, H. Nurmi, `A theoretical review of the Finnish parliamentary and presidential electoral systems', (*) in J. Sundberg and S. Berglund, eds, Finnish Democracy, Helsinki: The Finnish Political Science Association 1990. S. Berg and H.
Nurmi, `Making choices in the old-fashioned way', (*) Economia delle Scelte Pubbliche 2, 1988, 95- 111.
Week 43: Some incompatibility results
- Arrow, Gibbard-Satterthwaite, Gardenfors
- Consistency and Condorcet efficiency
- No-show paradox and Condorcet efficiency
Literature: section 5.3 of H. Nurmi, Rational Behaviour and the Design of Institutions, chapter 9 of H. Nurmi, Comparing Voting Systems, Dordrecht: D. Reidel 1987.
Week 44: How often does one get into trouble?
- Computer simulation studies
- Probability models
- Empirical studies
Literature: chapters 2 and 3 of S. Merrill, III, Making Multicandidate Elections More Democratic, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1988, H. Nurmi, `An assessment of voting system simulations', Public Choice 73, 1992, 459-487, W. V. Gehrlein, `Condorcet's paradox and the Condorcet efficiency of voting rules', (**)Mathematica Japonica 45, 1997, 173-199.
Week 45: Tournament solutions
- Borda, Copeland, Banks
- top cycle, Pareto and uncovered sets
Literature: J. S. Banks, `Sophisticated voting outcomes and agenda control', (**) Social Choice and Welfare 4, 1986, 295-306, chapter 5 of N. R. Miller, Committees, Agendas, and Voting, (**)Chur: Harwood Academic Publishers 1995, H. Nurmi, `Banks, Borda and Copeland', (*) in D. Sainsbury, ed., Democracy, State and Justice, section 6.3 of H. Nurmi, Rational Behaviour and the Design of Institutions.
Week 46: Constitutional choice
- Calculus of consent
- The Finnish qualified majorities
- Finland: trend towards normal parliamentarism
- Kramer's result and the q-rules
Literature: chapter 6 of J. M. Buchanan and G. Tullock, Calculus of Consent, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press 1962. G. H. Kramer, `A dynamical model of political equilibrium',(**)Journal of Economic Theory 16, 1977, 310-334, D. Saari, ` The generic existence of a core for q-rules',(**) Economic Theory 9, 219-260.
Midterm examination
Week 47: Joining a club that wants to have members like us
- The referendum institution
- Condorcet's jury theorem
- Referendum design
Literature: B. S. Frey, `Efficiency and democratic political organisation: the case for the referendum', Journal of Public Policy 12, 1992, 209-222, S. Berg, `Condorcet's jury theorem, dependency among jurors', (**) Social Choice and Welfare 10, 1993, 87-95, H. Nurmi, `Referendum design: an exercise in applied social choice theory', (*) Scandinavian Political Studies 20, 1997, 33-52.
Week 48: Finland in the European Union
- The basic EU institutions
- The decision making rules in the EU
- A priori voting power
- Spatial modelling of the EU decision making
Literature: K. Herne and H. Nurmi, `The distribution of a priori voting power in the EC Council of Ministers and the European Parliament', (*) Scandinavian Political Studies 16, 269-284, H. Nurmi, ` The representation of voter groups in the European Parliament',(*) Electoral Studies 16, 1997, 317-327, G. Garrett and G. Tsebelis, `An institutional critique of intergovernmentalism', International Organization 50, 1996, 269-299, B. Steunenberg, `Decision making under different institutional arrangements: Legislation by the European Community', (**) Journal of Theoretical and Institutional Economics 150, 642-669.
Week 49: The Finnish electoral system
- Majoritarian and proportional systems
- PR paradoxes
- The recent electoral system reforms in Finland
- Unlikely proposal: STV
Literature: chapter 13 of H. Nurmi, Comparing Voting Systems, H. Nurmi and E. Lagerspetz, `Observations on the Finnish electoral system', D. Anckar and E. Berndtson, eds, Essays on Democratic Theory, Helsinki: The Finnish Political Science Association 1984, H. Nurmi, `It's not just the lack of monotonicity', (*)Representation 34, 1996/1997, 48-52.
Week 50: From semi-presidential to parliamentary system
- The evolution of the Finnish presidential election system
- Doing away with 2/3- rule
- Direct election of the prime minister?
Final examination
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SUMMER 2001
SPRING 2001
FALL 2000
SUMMER 2000
SPRING 1999
WINTER 1999
FALL 1998
SUMMER 1998
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