| Course ID: | POLS 8030. 3 hours. |
| Course Title: | Spatial Voting Models |
Course
Description: | Examination of the building blocks of spatial voting theory
and its application to studies of legislative process, judicial
politics, and parliamentary procedure. Topics include the
median voter theorem, properties of the majority preference
relationship, multidimensional voting, and a brief introduction
to empirical estimation of ideal points, among others. |
| Oasis Title: | SPATIAL VOTING MOD |
Semester Course
Offered: | Not offered on a regular basis. |
| Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
|
| Course Objectives: | Students will learn spatial theories of political science that
are applied to a wide variety of subjects. This includes
mathematical and deductive models that enhance logic skills.
Students who develop these skills should draw more clear
conclusions from stated premises, and have a better
understanding of the role of theory in research. They should
also be able to apply these theories to empirical problems to
use them in their own research. Students will be exposed to
deductive proofs and learn the consequences of various
electoral and institutional designs. |
| Topical Outline: | Individual rationality
Single dimensional spatial voting
Elections with two alternatives
Median voter theorem
The Downsian model of mass elections
Pivotal politics
Multidimentional spatial voting
The core
McKelvey's chaos theorem
Condorcet’s paradox
Empirical estimation of spatial voting models
NOMINATE
Optimal classification |
| Honor Code Reference: | All academic work must meet the standards contained in "A
Culture of Honesty." Students are responsible for informing
themselves about these standards before performing academic
work. The penalties for academic dishonesty are severe and
ignorance is not an acceptable defense. Also note that the
course syllabus is a general plan for the course and that
deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be
necessary.
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