Political Science Quiz

Which of the following statements best describes a vote of confidence?

• A new government must pass a vote (on the cabinet's composition and proposed policies) in the legislature before taking office.

• A government declares that a vote on a particular piece of legislation is also a vote on support for the government itself; if the legislators do not support the legislation, then the government will resign (and new elections might result).

• A group of legislators propose a vote on support for the incumbent government. If the government passes the vote, then it stays in office. It must resign if it fails the vote (and new elections might result).

• None of the above

Answer explanation

A vote of confidence ties the fate of the government to the legislature's approval of a specific piece of legislation.

Option a describes a vote of investiture, not a vote of confidence. A vote of investiture occurs at the formation of a new government, where the legislature approves the proposed cabinet and policies to formally establish the government.

Option c describes a vote of no confidence, not a vote of confidence. A vote of no confidence is initiated by opposition or dissatisfied legislators to challenge the government's legitimacy or performance. If the government loses this vote, it is often required to resign.

Dictatorial autonomy allows dictators to ignore demands from special interest groups.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

In regimes with dictatorial autonomy, the leader operates without constraints from special interest groups or institutional checks and balances.

This autonomy allows the dictator to bypass public demands and consolidate power through force or coercion rather than negotiation or consensus-building.

The independence of irrelevant alternatives criterion in Arrow's theorem means:

• Adding new options should not change the ranking between existing ones.

• All options must be considered equally valid.

• Agents must report preferences truthfully.

• Decision-making should exclude minoritarian opinions.

Answer explanation

This criterion ensures the consistency of preferences in decision-making.

When new options are introduced, they should not influence the relative ranking of existing choices.

For example, if X is preferred over Y, the addition of a third, unrelated option Z should not alter this ranking, ensuring the integrity of collective decisions.

In the context of principal-agent problems, moral hazard refers to:

• A situation where principals cannot oversee agents.

• The risk of agents acting against principals' interests when monitoring is weak.

• The inability of voters to express transitive preferences.

• The agents' reliance on majority rule to justify decisions.

Answer explanation

Moral hazard occurs when agents (e.g., employees, politicians) act in their self-interest, knowing that the principal (e.g., employers, voters) cannot fully monitor their actions.

This mismatch of interests is exacerbated when oversight is weak, leading to inefficiency or corruption, as agents prioritize personal gains over the goals of the principal.

In an electoral authoritarian regime,

the ruling party consistently wins elections through fair and competitive means.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

In electoral authoritarian regimes, elections are held, but they are neither free nor fair.

The ruling party uses tactics like voter suppression, media control, or outright fraud to ensure their continued dominance.

Although these regimes maintain a facade of democracy, they fundamentally lack the competitiveness and transparency required for genuine democratic governance.

How do ex-ante mechanisms help address accountability in democracies?

• By rewarding agents after performance evaluation

• By removing poorly performing agents from office

• By limiting risks through pre-delegation actions such as elections or screenings

• By instituting penalties for non-compliance after decisions are made

Answer explanation

Ex-ante mechanisms are preventive strategies like elections, candidate vetting, or performance screenings that ensure accountability before delegation occurs.

How does the leader typically allocate resources in a system with a small winning coalition?

• Through the provision of public goods for all citizens

• Through the provision of private goods for the members of the winning coalition

• Equally distributed among the selectorate

• Reserved only for the leader's family

Answer explanation

Leaders in systems with small winning coalitions prioritize the distribution of private goods to secure the loyalty of this key group.

Since the coalition's support is critical for retaining power, resources are allocated selectively rather than broadly.

Leaders in systems with small winning coalitions will often neglect building infrastructure and providing public goods that benefit the larger population, as they do not rely on them to stay in power.

What impact does a weak loyalty norm have on a leader's provision of public goods?

• It encourages leaders to rely on repression rather than public goods

• It pushes leaders to focus on public goods to win over a broader base of support

• It has no effect on public goods provision

• It forces leaders to abolish public services

Answer explanation

A weak loyalty norm means the ratio of the winning coaltion over the selectorate W/S is high- the winning coalition is large.

The leader cannot rely solely on private goods to satisfy key supporters but must appeal to a broader base by delivering significant public goods to secure widespread loyalty and legitimacy and counteract the weak loyalty norm.

According to Arrow's theorem,

what is the result of any decision-making process that satisfies fairness and stability?

• It guarantees a stable outcome in all situations

• It requires some level of individual preference falsification

• It cannot satisfy all conditions of fairness and stability simultaneously

• It leads to a dictatorship

Answer explanation

Arrow's impossibility theorem demonstrates the inherent trade-offs in collective decision-making.

Any system attempting to satisfy all fairness criteria—like universal preference consistency and no dictatorship—will fail to achieve stability in some scenarios.

This result underscores the complexity of creating truly equitable and stable decision-making processes.

The Borda count method is immune to manipulation by introducing irrelevant alternatives.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The Borda count method is vulnerable to manipulation because adding irrelevant alternatives can change the outcome.

Imagine an election with three candidates: John, Jack, and Jason. Voters rank them as follows:

• 3 voters rank John > Jack > Jason

• 2 voters rank Jack > Jason > John

Using the Borda count, each candidate receives points based on their position in voters' rankings. Without Jason, John might win with a higher point total.

However, if Jason (an irrelevant alternative with no real chance of winning) is added to the election, the rankings may shift as follows:

Voters adjust their rankings to John > Jason > Jack, and Jack > John > Jason.

This shift in rankings changes the point totals and can cause Jack to win instead of John, even though Jason had no real chance of winning.

Introducing irrelevant alternatives can manipulate the outcome. The Borda count method can be susceptible to strategic interference.