MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 02731cam a2200385 a 4500
001 2006030855
003 DLC
005 20070728083643.0
008 060921s2007 njua b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2006030855
015 $aGBA722552$2bnb
016 7 $a013699473$2Uk
020 $a9780691129426 (cloth : alk. paper)
020 $a0691129428 (cloth : alk. paper)
035 $a(OCoLC)ocm71581737
035 $a(OCoLC)71581737
040 $aDLC$cDLC$dBAKER$dBTCTA$dC#P$dMNY$dUKM$dYDXCP$dNLGGC$dDLC
050 00 $aHD87$b.C36 2007
082 00 $a320.6$222
084 $a89.35$2bcl
100 1 $aCaplan, Bryan Douglas,$d1971-
245 14 $aThe myth of the rational voter :$bwhy democracies choose bad policies /$cBryan Caplan.
260 $aPrinceton :$bPrinceton University Press,$cc2007.
300 $ax, 276 p. :$bill. ;$c24 cm.
520 $a"Caplan argues that voters continually elect politicians who either share their biases or else pretend to, resulting in bad policies winning again and again by popular demand. Calling into question our most basic assumptions about American politics, Caplan contends that democracy fails precisely because it does what voters want. Through an analysis of American's voting behavior and opinions on a range of economic issues, he makes the case that noneconomists suffer from four prevailing biases: they underestimate the wisdom of the market mechanism, distrust foreigners, undervalue the benefits of conserving labor, and pessimistically believe the economy is going from bad to worse. Caplan lays out several ways to make democratic government work better
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [237]-266) and index.
505 0 $aIntroduction. The paradox of democracy -- ch. 1. Beyond the miracle of aggregation -- ch. 2. Systematically biased beliefs about economics -- ch. 3. Evidence from the survey of Americans and economists on the economy -- ch. 4. Classical public choice and the failure of rational ignorance -- ch. 5. Rational irrationality -- ch. 6. From irrationality to policy -- ch. 7. Irrationality and the supply side of politics -- ch. 8. "Market fundamentalism" versus the religion of democracy -- ch. 9. Conclusion. In praise of the study of folly.
650 0 $aEconomic policy.
650 0 $aDemocracy.
650 0 $aPolitical sociology.
650 0 $aRepresentative government and representation.
650 0 $aRationalism.
856 41 $3Table of contents only$uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip071/2006030855.html
856 42 $3Publisher description$uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0704/2006030855-d.html
856 42 $3Contributor biographical information$uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0734/2006030855-b.html