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Published September 1967 | Published
Journal Article Open

A Notion of Equilibrium and Its Possibility Under Majority Rule

Abstract

Consider a committee that is faced with the task of deciding on how to change the magnitude of several variables. It is assumed that agreement is defined by majority rule. The decision-making body could be a board of directors attempting to decide on the magnitude of several investment projects, or a group of individuals deciding upon the allocation of a budget among several public goods. The setting makes no difference as long as the variables could conceivably be changed by any amount. If a change in the variables is proposed and the change does not receive a majority vote, then the "existing state" of the variables remains. If no possible change in the variables could receive a majority vote, then the "existing state" of the variables is an "equilibrium."

Additional Information

© 1967 American Economic Association. The author is assistant professor of economics at Purdue University. He wishes to thank James M. Buchanan of the University of Virginia and James Quirk of the University of Kansas for their helpful comments and criticisms. Financial support was provided in part from a National Science Foundation grant under the general supervision of Gordon Tullock and from a research grant provided by the Krannert Graduate School of Industrial Administration.

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August 19, 2023
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