--- john hull <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Why wouldn't economists adopt a theoretically superior > method?
So far as I know, there are few economics associations that provide public goods for which members vote for. Professional associations elect their officers but offer standard services that don't change. Homeowner and condominium associations elect a board which then votes on policies and goods. It is rare for some project to be put to a member vote. Where this is more common is in elections of cities, counties, and some States, where propositions are offered to the voters, such as bond measures. Until recently, using demand revelation for a large organization such as a city would have been costly, since each participant needs to enter a stated value. Now, with the Internet, it has become cost effective. The city could have a web site on which the citizens enter their stated values, with passwords. An association could do this with membership numbers or IDs. A program could then add up the values. Voting reforms have historically been difficult to adopt, even when they make sense. For example, the "instant runoff" method is well known, yet meets political resistance. There is a lot of political inertia. Demand revelation could be used with as few as two persons. So it may be in private use, but just not publicized. Fred Foldvary ===== [EMAIL PROTECTED]
