Exam 19: Building Theories to Explain Everyday Life: From Observations to Questions to Theories to Predictions

According to public choice theorists,the behavior of people employed in the public sector is likely to differ from the behavior of people employed in the private sector because

Public choice theorists say that the greater the number of potential voters in an election,the __________ the perceived benefits of voting held by each voter,and so the __________ the likely percentage turnout of voters.

In a simple majority vote,the losses to the losers are greater than the gains to the winners.It follows that the

In his article Straight Talk About Economic Literacy,economist _______________________ said,"Citizens can vote even if they have no idea what they are doing.If enough voters fit that description,democratic governments are bound to make foolish decisions."

Society as a whole is made worse off by rent seeking behavior by producers.

Which of the following is false?

It has been suggested by some economists that rent seeking activity often occurs within families,particularly when an inheritance is involved.

-Refer to Exhibit 32-1.The exhibit shows the breakdown of benefits and costs for a four-person town considering the purchase of an additional $1,200 worth of books for the public library.If simple majority voting determines the outcome,the books will

Most voters choose not to be informed about political and governmental issues because they are not smart enough to really understand the issues.

Suppose Congress passes a law that states that the federal government will pay $100 to any American citizen who can pass a (reasonably simple)current political events test.It follows that

One implication of the median voter model is that candidates running for political office take polls because

In a political election,a candidate whose positions are on the left will tend to be labeled __________ by his or her opponent.

Ceteris paribus,economics predicts that voter turnout will be higher

Logrolling refers to

Congressman A promises to vote for a bill that Congressmen B and C are sponsoring,and in return both B and C promise to vote for a future bill that A is sponsoring.This practice is called

Logrolling

The simple majority decision rule may generate results that are

According to public choice theory,low voter turnouts may be the result of cost-benefit calculations on the part of voters.

Rent seeking is more likely to occur in a family when the parents make their inheritance plans clear by telling the children ahead of time that their estate will be divided equally among the children (and that under no circumstances will the parents change their minds)than when there is more uncertainty with regards to the parents' inheritance plans.

Why would a candidate for political office speak in general instead of specific terms?