Elgar Encyclopedia of Public choice

This definitive Encyclopedia explores the core ideas of public choice theory, including rational choice, voting theory, and political budget cycles. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, entries cover both empirical, theoretical, and philosophical principles in the field. They explore how political incentives, institutional constraints, and voter behavior interact in contexts ranging from collective action, to democratic backsliding, to fiscal federalism and rent-seeking.

The Elgar Encyclopedia of Public Choice offers a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the interdisciplinary field that bridges economics, political science, and philosophy. With contributions from leading scholars around the globe, this volume explores how incentives, institutions, and individual behavior shape collective decision-making in democratic and non-democratic contexts alike.

Covering foundational concepts such as constitutionalism, rational ignorance, rent-seeking, the median voter, and Arrow’s impossibility theorem, the Encyclopedia also delves into contemporary debates on algorithmic fairness, authoritarian populism, expressive choice, and the role of emotion in politics. It brings public choice theory to bear on issues ranging from corruption, fiscal federalism, and globalization, to political dynasties, constitutional design, and the decline of democracy, and documents the unique insights of the approach.

From classical models of strategic voting and collective action to emergent perspectives on behavioral asymmetries and belief consumption, this Encyclopedia illuminates the enduring relevance of public choice in understanding the mechanics of governance, power, policy, and political change.

Essential reading for researchers, students, and practitioners, this is the definitive reference for anyone seeking to understand the logic—and limits—of political decision-making.

Critical acclaim

‘This Encyclopedia brings together top-scholars in the field to survey the contribution that public choice has made to political science and political economy, in both scope and depth, as well as to offer new insights. It belongs in every well-stocked library.’

– Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

‘Public choice brings the tools of economics to bear on politics, and this Encyclopedia shows just how far that approach can take us. A rigorous and wide-ranging resource, it reflects the depth and diversity of a field still reshaping how we understand collective decision-making.’

– Albert Solé-Ollé, University of Barcelona, Spain

‘Between these two covers, you will find everything required to bring yourself to the research frontier of the economics of politics.’

– Bryan Caplan, George Mason University, USA