In reality, it is often groups rather than individuals that make decisions. In previous experiments, groups have frequently been shown to act differently from individuals in several ways. It has been claimed that inter-group interactions may be (1) more competitive, (2) more rational, or (3)...

We study political dynasties in the United States Congress since its inception in 1789. We document historic and geographic patterns in the evolution and profile of political dynasties, study the extent of dynastic bias in legislative politics versus other occupations, and analyze the connection...

A partir des principes universalistes de la liberte et de l'egalite formelle des individus, la modernite institue une forme inedite de democratie fondee sur la double valeur de la citoyennete et du travail. Elle inaugure ainsi une dynamique a la fois d'elargissement et de concretisation des...

We consider processes in which norms of behavior are transmetted through social of geographic networks.Agents adopt behaviors based on a combination of their inherent payoff and their local popularity (the number of neighbors who have adopted them) subject to some random error. Extending work of...

Power and conflict play virtually no role in mainstream economics, the main reason being the pervasive influence of the competitive model and the difficulty in incorporating quantitavely in formal models. Following some preliminary remarks on power, we proceed to an historical explanation of the...

We examine a model in which two politicians compete for office and for wages. Their remunerations are either set by the public or are offered competitively by the candidates during campaigns. Our main finding shows that competitive wage offers by candidates lead to lower social welfare than...

We examine whether the central bank council of a monetary union should publish its voting records when members are appointed by national politicians. We show that the publication of voting records lowers overall welfare if the private benefits of holding office are sufficiently low. High private...

It is widely recognized that active media can play a role in enhancing political competition by informing voters. Collusion between government and media can, however, undermine this role. We extend the political accountability model to include the presence of media outlets and the possibility...

Economists who believe that government is essentially benevolent tend to regard inter-governmental competition as a source of negative externalities that lower welfare. In contrast the public choice perspective, particularly that motivated by the Leviathan model, sees such competition as...