Abstract
This paper analyzes activities of Danish legislators within a rational choice perspective. The first section contains a few general comments on rational action models. Then, in section two, it is shown that rational legislators are specialized actors. Findings on specialization patterns are presented in section three, and, finally, the consequences of specialization for decision-making in the political system are discussed. Three main points are made in the paper. First, while axiomatic-deductive models of behavior can not easily be applied to empirical data, important insights are nevertheless obtained by assuming that legislators act rationally. Second, such an approach sensitizes the analyst to an important paradox growing out of the fundamental difference between individual choice and social outcome. Third, in prescribing reforms of legisla¬tive policy-making the goals of rational actors must be taken into account such that the findings of empirical research are utilized rather than deplored.
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Damgaard, E. (1980). The Dilemma of Rational Legislative Action: Some Danish Evidence. In: Lewin, L., Vedung, E. (eds) Politics as Rational Action. Theory and Decision Library, vol 23. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8955-9_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8955-9_14
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