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18 November 2008

Seminar on “The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies” by Associate Professor Bryan Caplan

In this seminar for policymakers, economists and social researchers in government, Associate Professor Caplan will discuss the main arguments of his recent book on the same title and provide suggestions for better economic policies. He argues that voters vote irrationally because they are affected by systematic biases, because they do not believe their votes will affect the outcome, and because the costs of their voting behaviour are distributed thinly among the larger population. Consequently, voting becomes an "expressive" act rather than an act that should drive policy-making.

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ETHOS
Ethos aims to provide thought leadership, insight and context on a wide range of public policy issues of interest to Singapore. The April 2008 issue examines the topic of The Next Generation of Public Service Delivery, while the June 2008 World Cities Summit Special Edition focuses on Liveable and Vibrant Cities.

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