|
|
Article: The Limits of Rational Choice: Bush and Clinton Budget Summitry.
- Article from:
- Presidential Studies Quarterly
- Article date:
- September 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Center for the Study of the Presidency. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Rational choice models change uncertainly into risk, convert risk from a constraint that paralyzes action to a set of opportunities that encourages decision, measure decisions taken against presumably more "rational" options, and provide a baseline to determine how well politicians maximize their preferences or those of constituents. Prescriptively, rational choice assumes that maximizing or satisfying individual game payoffs ultimately maximizes the public good because solutions that are more efficient for the parties also increase the payoffs for the society at large. Rational choice models are often used by economists in describing decisions made by governments, firms, ...