The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
INTRODUCTION: The Paradox of Democracy 1
CHAPTER 1: Beyond the Miracle of Aggregation 5
CHAPTER 2: Systematically Biased Beliefs about Economics 23
CHAPTER 3: Evidence from the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy 50
CHAPTER 4: Classical Public Choice and the Failure of Rational Ignorance 94
CHAPTER 5: Rational Irrationality 114
CHAPTER 6: From Irrationality to Policy 142
CHAPTER 7: Irrationality and the Supply Side of Politics 166
CHAPTER 8: "Market Fundamentalism" versus the Religion of Democracy 182
CONCLUSION: In Praise of the Study of Folly 205
NOTES 211
REFERENCES 237
INDEX 267