POLS 1101 1st Edition Final Exam Study Guide Material from Test One Lectures 1 7 Chapters 1 4 Collective Dilemmas o Collective Action Problems a situation in which many people would be better off if they all cooperated however any individual has incentive to not cooperate as long as the others are large scale prisoner s dilemma FREE RIDING OCCURS aka free rider problem o Prisoner s Dilemma Situation An interaction between two strategic actors in which neither actor has an incentive to cooperate even though both would be better off if they both did o Coordination Problem A situation in which a group of people want to coordinate but there are many possible ways to coordinate and people disagree over what s best o Tragedy of Commons acting independently and rationally according to each one s self interest behave contrary to the whole group s long term best interests by depleting some common resource Coalitions Collective agreements o Unstable Coalition an instance in which any voting coalition in favor of an alternative can be divided by consideration of another alternative Institutions formal constraints on behavior Can be large and complex or a rule within a larger institution Institutions help solve collective dilemmas o Institutional design affects distribution of benefits in society o Can be unfair large vs small states Constitutional Convention meeting to consider changes to the AOC o Constitution accomplished rule of law basic policy making outline responsibilities of government institutions determines who can serve in government positions o 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 Set up a weak central government with a congress who could not compel states to pay their share of debt taxes FREE RIDER PROBLEM o Virginia plan Based on Population Advantage of large states over small states stronger national government Established Bicameral Legislature a legislature with two houses or chambers Federal Government is Bicameral all states are except Nebraska o NJ plan Based on equal representation by states Plural executive multiple members are executive by committee o Connecticut Compromise Also enacted Bicameral Legislature Slaves count as 3 5 Equal states representation in Senate 2 senators Unitary executive Senators elected by state legislature o Three Major Cleavages of the Convention 1 Strength of National Government 2 Representation in the Legislature 3 Slavery Features of the Constitution and Powers Enlisted o Federal Supremacy federal laws trump state laws o Elastic Clause Necessary and proper clause stating congress can make whatever laws are necessary to carry out powers o Expressed Powers Article 1 Section 8 Congress How to Amend the Constitution o 2 3 of each legislative chamber plus 3 4 of state legislatures o 2 3 of state legislatures can call for convention proposed amendments need 3 4 of state legislatures Framer Concerns o Anti Federalists reject ratification of Constitution o Federalist Papers Outlined what the constitution was meant to accomplish Wrote by James Madison Federalist 10 Checks and Balances would constrain government it is a powerful force o 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 o Bill of Rights First ten amendments which protects the individuals rights o 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 Systems of Government o Federalism system of shared powers between two or more levels of government Example United States under the Constitution of 1789 Dual Federalism national and state governments have separate spheres of power What one does the other does not do LAYERED CAKE MODEL US SYSTEM Cooperative Federalism national and state government have shared spheres of power they both call the same shots MARBLED CAKE MODEL Intergovernmentalism mixture of dual and cooperative federalism shared spheres in particular policy areas Best Model Limit of Federalism Court interpretation has changed over time o Federations Normally have a lot of land mass Example Switzerland o Confederation System of shared powers between two or more levels of government Most decentralized Not a lot of them Another example is the European Union Example Article of Confederation o Unitary System All power is centralized with the national government Example United Kingdom Parliament o State Governments Similar to federal government except Nebraska o Local Governments 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 Federalism as Response to Collective Dilemmas Increased federal authority can help solve collective dilemmas o Prisoner s dilemma Prevent states units from going to war with each other o Collective action problem Protect states units from outside aggression Can provide a common national defense o Free rider problem Set national standards for labor and environmental laws States face individual incentives and would ideally like to be laxed in terms of labor laws and environmental laws so cost of business is lower which will bring in money Air Polluters in GA can cause a free rider problem Solution In 1970 acts for federal clean air act passed so you don t see this pattern after 1970 1980ish Federalism and Competition o Experimentation in states can produce evidence for new effective policies o Competition for industry can reduce tax base End up relaxing regulations to where wages for workers aren t as high as they should be etc National Boundary Minimum Wage o Liberal Conservations have solutions but the federal government hasn t really adopted a solution to certain things Arizona has adopted a harsh line on immigration Federal Influence on State Spending o Grants in Aid Most general funding general programs e g infrastructure o Categorical Grants have more strings attached School lunches o Revenue Sharing Joint endeavor where they both invest money o Block Grants loosen up the way a particular program is funded 1995 welfare reform o Contrast Unfunded Mandates Federal government will