2010/02 | LEM Working Paper Series | |
Social Choice among Complex Objects |
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Luigi Marengo, Simona Settepanella |
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Keywords | ||
social choice; object construction power; agenda power; intransitive cycles; median voter.
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JEL Classifications | ||
D03, D71, D72
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Abstract | ||
We present a geometric model of social choice when the latter takes
place among bundles of interdependent elements, that we will call
objects. We show that the outcome of the social choice process is
highly dependent on the way these bundles are formed. By bundling and
unbundling the same set of constituent elements an authority has the
power of determine the social outcome. We provide necessary and
sufficient conditions under which a social outcome may be a local or
global optimum for a set of objects, and we show that, by
appropriately redefining the set of objects, intransitive cycles may
be broken and the median voter may be turned into a loser.
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