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Qualified majority voting explained

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  • Felsenthal, Dan S.
  • Machover, Moshé

Abstract

We explain the issue of the decision rule of the EU's Council of Ministers. We outline, in as non-technical fashion as we can, the mathematical theory (due to L S Penrose) that addresses this sort of issue. We assess the decision rule prescribed in the Nice Treaty as well as that included in the Draft Constitution proposed by the European Convention. Finally, we propose our own solution to this problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Felsenthal, Dan S. & Machover, Moshé, 2004. "Qualified majority voting explained," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 24230, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:24230
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/24230/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Moshé Machover & Dan S. Felsenthal, 2001. "The Treaty of Nice and qualified majority voting," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 18(3), pages 431-464.
    2. Dan S Felsenthal & Moshé Machover, 2004. "Analysis of QM rules in the draft constitution for Europe proposed by the European Convention, 2003," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 23(1), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Dan S. Felsenthal & Moshé Machover, 1998. "The Measurement of Voting Power," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1489.
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    Cited by:

    1. Federico Valenciano & Annick Laruelle & Ricardo Martínez, 2004. "On The Difficulty Of Making Decisions Within The Eu-25," Working Papers. Serie AD 2004-15, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    2. Widgren, Mika & Kauppi, Heikki, 2008. "Do Benevolent Aspects Have Room in Explaining EU Budget Receipts?," CEPR Discussion Papers 6778, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Kauppi, Heikki & Widgrén, Mika, 2008. "Do Benevolent Aspects Have Room Explaining EU Bydget Receipts?," Discussion Papers 1161, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    4. Nicola Maaser & Stefan Napel, 2007. "Equal representation in two-tier voting systems," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 28(3), pages 401-420, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    EU Council of Ministers; EU Constitution; qualified majority voting; voting power;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • C71 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Cooperative Games
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations

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