Political Science Quiz

What does the Median Voter Theorem posit?

• The policy that a majority of members of the society (voters) prefer will always be rejected.

• The ideal point of the median voter will win against any other policy alternative in a pairwise majority rule contest.

• The median voter is always the person with the most extreme political views.

• The median voter has no significant influence on the outcome of policy decisions.

According to the text, left-wing politicians are generally thought to be willing to tax citizens more in return for:

• Less involvement from the state.

• More state services.

• A balanced economic trade-off.

• Decreased government policy-making.

What is required for representative democracy to work well?

• Government policy must match the position of the societal median voter.

• There must be a direct democracy system in place.

• The median voter must have extreme political views.

• Policy agenda must be controlled by a single individual.

What is a key aspect of responsiveness in a representative democracy?

• Government policy does not change regardless of societal preferences.

• Government policy changes in response to a change in policy preferences from the societal median voter.

• Government policy is decided by a single individual controlling the policy agenda.

• Government policy is influenced by the most extreme voters.

Why is direct democracy considered flawed according to the text?

• It allows for too many changes in government policy.

• It requires someone to control the policy agenda.

• It matches government policy with the position of the societal median voter.

• It is based on the Median Voter Theorem.

Why do we have representatives in an institution?

• To ensure that the institution functions without any rules

• To be solely responsible for the outcomes of the institution

• To be in charge of agenda-setting and order

• To allow meetings to break into chaos

What is the role of agents in a representative democracy?

• To make decisions on their own behalf

• To make decisions on behalf of the principals (voters)

• To follow orders from the principals without making decisions

• To ensure that principals carry out tasks

What is Prospective Voting?

• Voting for politicians based on their past performance

• Voting for politicians based on their future policy promises

• Voting for politicians based on their personal characteristics

• Voting for politicians based on the current status quo

What does Electoral Accountability refer to?

• Voters rewarding incumbents they dislike based on their performance in office

• Voters removing those they think have performed well

• Voters rewarding incumbents they like based on their performance in office

• Voters having no influence over the performance of incumbents

What is the winset of the status quo?

• The set of all possible status quos

• The set of points that are equidistant between the actors' ideal points and the status quo

• The set of points that represent the status quo

• The set of points that are preferred to the status quo by all relevant actors