POLS 1101 Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 7 Lecture 1 January 9 Common Collective Dilemmas Coalitions Institutions I II III Common Collective Dilemmas A Prisoner s Dilemma Strategic interaction where each actor is better off with cooperation but each is incentivized to not cooperate o Prisoners are put in separate rooms so that there is no cooperation and offered deals to rat out the other o They pretty much always implicate squeal o If they would ve stayed quiet they would ve had less easier charges and had been better off B A political campaign prisoner s dilemma Spend extra money campaigning and win or don t and loose or come up with a gentleman s agreement C Large Scale Prisoner s Dilemma Public vs private goods D FREE RIDER PROBLEM EVERYONE WANTS THE BENEFITS THAT THE GOVERNMENT MIGHT PROVIDE LEADS TO PEOPLE THINKING THAT IT DOESN T MATTER WHETHER ONE INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTES OR NOT WHICH LEADS TO NOBODY PAYS AND WE ALL CRASH HAVE NOTHING a Solution to free rider problem o Effective enforcement is required to solve problem o Change the rules of the game Make it where if you don t comply you have serious punishment E Special case the Tragedy of the Commons F Coordination Problem Groups want to act in common but cannot agree on solution Example Where to meet for lunch Coalitions collective agreements A Unstable Coalitions Collective agreements can be undermined in the face of competition Example A big amount of money to be disbursed between a bunch of people B Principle Agent Problems a Principals hire agents to do some task for them Examples 1 Car Mechanic Wants to do the minimum amount of work 2 Doctor for the least amount of money Institutions formal constraints on behavior Example The Mafia IV How do you solve collective dilemmas INSTITUTIONS Lecture 2 January 14 Features of the Constitution I What do constitutions accomplish rule of law basic policy making outline responsibilities of government institutions determines who can serve in government positions II Articles of Confederation AOC Congress had powers but no means of enforcement First U S governing document ratified in 1781 Each state had one vote in congress III Origins of American System Articles of Confederations set up a weak national government Could not compel states to pay their share of debt taxes FREE RIDER PROBLEM Articles lacked effective means of coordination and preventing free riding IV Constitutional Convention Meeting to consider amendments to AOC Quickly decided to scrap the AOC and write a new document A Virginia Plan Bicameral legislature with upper chamber elected by lower chamber based on population Proposal gave advantage to large states at expense of small states B New Jersey Plan Legislature based of EQUAL representation by states Plural executive multiple members are executive by committee V Three Major Cleavages of convention 1 Strength of National Government 2 Representation in the Legislature 3 Slavery VI Connecticut compromise Bicameral Legislature where the HOR is based on population Slaves count as 3 5 Equal states representation in Senate 2 senators Senators elected by state legislature Unitary executive VII Features of Constitution Three branches of government that are separate but nonsubordinate branches VIII Constitutional Powers o Expressed powers specifically described in the Constitution Article I Section 8 lists powers of Congress o Elastic clause is more vague Allows Congress to pass all laws that are necessary and proper to carry out enumerated powers A Federal Supremacy federal laws trump state and local laws IX Amending the Constitution is More flexible process than under AOC 2 3 of each legislative chamber plus 3 4 of state legislatures 2 3 of state legislatures can call for convention proposed amendments need 3 4 of state legislatures Lecture 3 January 16 Concerns of the Framers A Anti federalist wanted to reject the ratification of the constitution Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican might have been Richard Henry Lee B Federalist Papers Outlined what the constitution was intended to do Written by James Madison Alexander Hamilton and John Jay 10 51 Written under the pen name Publius Outlined arguments that institutions were necessary to solve collective dilemmas that were not solved by the articles of confederation Federalist 10 Checks and balances would constrain government it is a powerful force C Ratification 1788 Nine small states ratified the constitution but the big states still hadn t ratified it yet Virginia and New York were big states in doubt both ratified summer of 1788 This is why the federalist papers were written D Bill of Rights First ten amendments which protects the individuals rights E Examples of a living constitution Slavery Abolished 13th Amendment National power has grown at expenses of state power More offices directly elected President Senators Increase in citizen rights liberties Consequences of Constitution Constitution has stood for more than 200 years Country has been successful but not perfect Legacy of slavery civil war partisan conflict I Lecture 4 January 21 Concepts of Federalism and the Federal System s Evolution Federalism is a system of shared powers between two or more levels of government Confederation System of shared powers between two or more levels of government Example United States under Articles of Confederation Unitary System All power is centralized with the national government Example United Kingdom Parliament Federations Normally have a lot of land mass Another example is Switzerland Confederation Most decentralized Not a lot of them Another example is the European Union 1 Dynamics of Federalism A Dual Federalism national and state governments have separate spheres of power What one does the other does not do LAYERED CAKE MODEL B Cooperative Federalism national and state government have shared spheres of power they both call the same shots MARBLED CAKE MODEL C Intergovernmentalism mixture of dual and cooperative federalism shared spheres in particular policy areas Best Model I II D Limit of Federalism Court interpretation has changed over time State Governments Most are similar to federal government Bicameral Except Nebraska Local Governments Normally have more variation than state governments Mayor has considerable power Council Manager small to medium cities Commissioners are declining in number due to collective action problems Lecture 5 January 23 Federalism in Practice I II Federalism as Response to