PSCI 1100 - Midterm 1 Exam Questions
With Correct Answers.
Politics - answer✔✔- process of making collective decisions despite different preferences
- Significant because each party's success in finding a solution requires the cooperation of others
looking to solve a different problem
Government - answer✔✔- consists of institutions and legally determined process for making and
enforcing collective agreements.
- Governments are significant because they are necessary in solving collective action problems
Institutions - answer✔✔- bodies established by the constitution that follow a set of rules to reach
and enforce collective agreements
- Significant because institutions may confer advantages on some interests over others
- Tend to be stable and resist change because they persist well beyond the tenure of the
individuals who occupy them
- are necessary in solving collective action problems
Collective Action Problem - answer✔✔- difficulty coming to a consensus on an issue
- When successful, entails compromise
Coordination Problem - answer✔✔- difficulty organizing and executing a solution to a problem
- becomes more of a problem with more people
Prisoner's dilemma - answer✔✔- individuals have an incentive not to participate in collective
action because the collective goal and your individual goal are in conflict
- Significant because it makes governments provide incentives to individuals to act with the
collective
Free Rider Problem - answer✔✔- a form of prisoner's dilemma that afflicts large groups when
they perceive their contribution to be small and inconsequential so they will defect on their
obligation but enjoy the collective benefit
- If collective effort is to succeed, it must provide potential participants of free riding with
persuasion to not do so
tragedy of the commons - answer✔✔- a form of the prisoner's dilemma where individuals
costlessly consume resources leading to its destruction
- Institutional design must link individual's personal preference to provision of the collective
good to avoid this
- Regulation: setting up rules limiting access to the common resource and monitoring and
penalizing those who violate them
- Privatization: converting a collective good to a private good
- Ex. Overfishing, deforestation of the amazon
transaction costs - answer✔✔- time, effort, and resources required to make collective decisions
- Pose barriers to political agreements
- Rise as number of participants whose preferences must be taken into account increases
conformity costs - answer✔✔- the extent that collective action obligates participants to do
something they normally wouldn't do
- Institutions must be designed to try and please as many people as possible
private v. public goods - answer✔✔- Private: things people buy and consume themselves in a
marketplace that supplies them according to demand
- Public: goods that cannot be denied to one
- Public goods' costs are borne collectively and no one can be excluded from their benefits
articles of confederation - answer✔✔- America's First Constitution ratified in 1781
- Created a confederation: a highly decentralized system in which the national government
derives limited authority from the states rather than directly from citizens
- Formed a congress in which each state had one vote
- Major laws required 9/13 state votes
- Fundamental changes (direct taxation) required unanimous agreement to amend the constitution
- National Authority was highly restricted, states held A LOT of power
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller Thebright. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £10.25. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
