Randall Holcombe, Ph.D., is the DeVoe L. Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University. Dr. Holcombe recently published his new book, “Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy,” which discusses the way that political elites influence the public policy preferences of the voting public.
Randall Holcombe, Ph.D. – the DeVoe L. Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University – recently published a new book titled “Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy.”
The thesis of Holcombe’s book is that the political preferences of citizens and voters are adopted from those offered to them by the political elite. This contrasts with an idealistic view of democracy that depicts democratic governments as adopting policies favored by their citizens.
Academic models of democratic decision-making tend to assume that voters have preferences and that candidates adjust their platforms to conform to those preferences. However, the direction of causation is largely the opposite. Political elites offer policy platforms to voters, and voters adopt those policies; they follow their leaders. This calls into question the degree to which democratic governments are responsive to the interests of their citizens.
Holcombe emphasizes the differences between choices in the marketplace and choices at the ballot box. In markets, people get what they choose. A person who orders salad instead of pizza for lunch gets salad. When that person votes for candidate A over candidate B at the ballot box, the same person will be elected regardless of how the individual votes. As a result, the incentives people have for forming their political preferences are different from the incentives they have for forming preferences for goods and services.
Following Their Leaders argues that policies are designed by the elite and the electorate has little say. Preferences for public policy tend to be anchored in a political identity associated with a candidate, party, or ideology; voters’ preferences on most issues are derived from their anchor preferences.
Because citizens adopt the policies offered by the elite, democratic institutions are ineffective constraints on the exercise of political power. This volume explores political institutions that help control the elite who exercise political power and discusses the implications political preferences have on democracies.
Holcombe suggests that future research should investigate the factors influencing voters’ political preferences, rather than assuming they already have preferences. Democratic processes are more complex than commonly perceived, and governments may be less accountable to their citizens than they seem.
This points toward the importance of further research on methods to constrain the use of political power by those who hold it, focusing on enforceable constitutional rules and a robust system of checks and balances.
To access Dr. Holcombe’s new book, Following Their Leaders, click here. To learn more about FSU’s Economics major, visit coss.fsu.edu/economics.