PPGC66H3 Lecture Notes - Intentionality, Bounded Rationality, Methodological Individualism
Document Summary
Polc66 - lec 5 - oct 11, 2012. Ontological orientations -> individual level, structural level, institutional level. Paradigmatic programs -> public choice, pluralism, marxian analysis, institutionalism/statism. Models of public policy decision-making -> rational choice, incrementallism, garbage can. Core points: analytic compartmentalization: preferences: individuals are inspired by their preferences, which are informed by different sources. Why people want what they want is not important. People act in accord with their preferences and thus are self-interested. Preferences are interior in the sense that they are not visible. Preferences often have properties that allow them to be ordered into a hierarchy of desire (sometimes choices cannot be compared and have little meaning). Instruments: in pursuing preferences individuals cannot often make choices directly; instead they choose an instrument that leads to their preferred outcomes. The choice of instruments and the pursuit of preferences (the actions you take to achieve your preferences) is mediated by beliefs about how the world works.
