The first principle of Economics is that every agent is actuated only by self-interest. The workings of this principle may be viewed under two aspects, according as the agent acts without, or with, the consent of others affected by his actions. In wide senses, the first species of action may be...

Conflict and war are typically viewed as the outcome of misperceptions, incomplete information, or even irrationality. We show that it can otherwise. Despite the short-run incentives to settle disputes peacefully , there can be long-term, compounding rewards to going to war when doing better...

In many economic environments agents make costly and irreversible investments (in "guns") that may enhance their respective threat payoffs but also shrink the utility possibilities set. In such settings, with variable threats and a variable utility possibilities set, it becomes possible to rank...

This paper analyzes the idea that political opposition to a tax increases with two factors: 1) the amount of tax that would be owed if consumers did not reduce their consumption of the taxed good, and 2) the consumer surplus consumers would enjoy in the absence of the tax.

We consider a politician's choice of whether to be evaluated, as by subjecting himself to a detailed interview or by asking for the appointment of a special prosecutor. We find that both when politicians do and do not know the quality of their own actions, stable equilibria may exist in which...

Public investment can cause the preferences of the decisive voter in one period to differ from preferences of the decisive voter in an earlier period. Forward-looking voters may therefore vote against a policy that would increase the incomes of all persons. The effect may arise when increased...