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On the Necessary and Sufficient Condition for Increasing Direct Participation Rights in Democracies: Comment on “Proposals for a Democracy of the Future” by Bruno S. Frey

Author

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  • Benoît Le Maux

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This article explores several issues related to whether and how direct participation of citizens could be further developed in democratic systems. The analysis starts with an overview of Frey's proposals for a democracy of the future. The article then addresses three main issues related to direct citizen involvement in public decision-making: (1) the link between extensive direct participation rights and Pareto optimality; (2) the question whether political parties do matter in representative democracies; and (3) the role of program evaluation in our modern democracies. The main conclusion of the analysis is that, given the current state of the literature, the search for Pareto-optimal policies does not appear as either a necessary condition (representative democracies have merits on their own) or a sufficient condition (referendums can yield inefficient outcomes) for extended democratic participation rights.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoît Le Maux, 2018. "On the Necessary and Sufficient Condition for Increasing Direct Participation Rights in Democracies: Comment on “Proposals for a Democracy of the Future” by Bruno S. Frey," Post-Print halshs-01806497, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01806497
    DOI: 10.1007/s41412-018-0063-x
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    as
    1. Freier, Ronny & Odendahl, Christian, 2015. "Do parties matter? Estimating the effect of political power in multi-party systems," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 310-328.
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    8. Jean-Michel Josselin & Benoît Le Maux, 2017. "Statistical Tools for Program Evaluation. Methods and Applications to Economic Policy, Public Health, and Education," Post-Print halshs-02138619, HAL.
    9. Sean Fox & Ron Johnston, 2017. "Well-Intentioned Fantasy? A Comment on “Proposals for a Democracy of the Future” by Bruno Frey," Homo Oeconomicus: Journal of Behavioral and Institutional Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 229-235, November.
    10. J. Ferris & Soo-Bin Park & Stanley Winer, 2008. "Studying the role of political competition in the evolution of government size over long horizons," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 369-401, October.
    11. Saaty, Thomas L. & Shang, Jen S., 2007. "Group decision-making: Head-count versus intensity of preference," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 22-37, March.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Direct democracy; Referendums; Public sector efficiency; Government failures; Program evaluation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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