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An Economic Theory of Democracy

Anthony Downs
TLDR
Downs presents a rational calculus of voting that has inspired much of the later work on voting and turnout as discussed by the authors, particularly significant was his conclusion that a rational voter should almost never bother to vote.
Abstract
Downs presents a rational calculus of voting that has inspired much of the later work on voting and turnout. Particularly significant was his conclusion that a rational voter should almost never bother to vote. This conclusion, especially as elaborated on by Riker and Ordeshook (1968) has shifted the attention of modern political scientists from explaining why people don't vote to explaining why they do.

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Trending Questions (1)
How does OCD affect the voting behavior of people?

The paper does not discuss the impact of OCD on voting behavior. The paper is about Downs' rational calculus of voting and its influence on political science.