Abstract
‘Rational choice in political science’ stands for the application of the economics approach in the study of political phenomena. The research program is to rationalize collective behaviour that comes across as stupid or counterproductive. In its highbrow (esoteric) variant, rational choice is on the way out in political science. In its low-brow (sensible) variant, rational choice is here to stay, not as the dominant approach, but as one of three equal, and complementary, approaches: the rationalist approach, which focuses on individual agency; the culturalist approach, which centres on collective identities; and the structuralist approach, which emphasizes historical institutionalism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsBibliography
Austen-Smith, D., and J. Banks. 1999. Positive political theory I: Collective preference. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Austen-Smith, D., and J. Banks. 2005. Positive political theory II: Strategy and structure. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Cohen, A. 2005. A lawmaker works, oddly enough, to keep his voters’ backyards dangerous: ‘Smokey Joe’ and the politics of corporate profit. The New York Times, 26 May, A28.
Easterly, W. 2006. The white man’s burden: Why the West’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much Ill and so little good. New York: Penguin.
Friedman, J. (ed.). 1995. Rational choice theory and politics. Special issue of Critical Review (vol. 9, nos. 1–2).
Friedman, J. (ed.). 1996. The rational choice controversy: Economic models of politics reconsidered. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Gilligan, T., and K. Krehbiel. 1987. Collective decision-making and standing committees: an informational rationale for restrictive amendment procedures. Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 3: 287–335.
Green, D., and I. Shapiro. 1994. Pathologies of rational choice theory: A critique of applications in political science. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Hayek, F.A. 1945. The use of knowledge in society. American Economic Review 35: 519–530.
Hayek, F.A. 1955. The counter-revolution of science: Studies on the abuse of reason, 1964. New York: Glencoe Free Press.
Lichbach, M.I. 2003. Is rational choice theory all of Social Science? Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Lichbach, M.I., and A.S. Zuckerman, eds. 1997. Comparative politics: Rationality, culture, and structure. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lohmann, S. 1998. An information rationale for the power of special interests. American Political Science Review 92: 809–827.
Lowi, T.J. 1992. The state in political science: How we become what we study. American Political Science Review 86: 1–7.
Monroe, K.R. 2005. Perestroika! The raucous rebellion in political science. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Mueller, D. 2003. Public choice III. 3rd ed. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Olson, M. 1965. The logic of collective action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Persson, T., and G. Tabellini. 2000. Political economics: Explaining economic policy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Post-Autistic Economics Network. Home Page. Available online at. http://www.paecon.net. Accessed 11 Feb 2007.
Sachs, J. 2005. The end of poverty. New York: Penguin.
Shepsle, K., and B. Weingast. 1987. The institutional foundations of committee power. American Political Science Review 81: 86–108.
Wittman, D. 1989. Why democracies produce efficient results. Journal of Political Economy 97: 1395–1424.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Lohmann, S. (2018). Rational Choice and Political Science. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2341
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2341
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences