Question 1

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Kidney Trade Ban Policy Spectrum 
-(Figure: Kidney Trade Ban Policy Spectrum) Refer to the figure. If there are only two candidates, A and B, and an open market for kidney trading is the only issue being debated in this election, which candidate will win the election?

Accepted Answer

Based on the figure, an open market for kidney trade is closer to the "Allow All" end of the spectrum, which is associated with candidate A. Therefore, candidate A has a higher likelihood of winning the election if this is the only issue being debated.

Question 2

The theory of the median voter may not work if:
I. voters do not vote.
II. voters do not vote for the policy closest to their own positions.
III. there are multiple dimensions over which the voting occurs.

Accepted Answer

All three statements are correct. 
I. If voters do not vote, then the median voter is irrelevant. 
II. If voters do not vote for the policy closest to their own positions, then the median voter may not be the deciding factor in the election outcome. 
III. If there are multiple dimensions over which the voting occurs, then the concept of a one-dimensional median voter may not be applicable.

Question 3

The basic concept behind the median voter theorem is that:
I. the median voter is defined as the voter for which half of the other voters want a policy to the left and half of the voters want a policy to the right.
II. when voters vote, regardless of whether they vote closest to their preferences or not, the preference of the median voter is sure to win in a majority win election.
III. if voters vote closest to their preferences, then the preference of the median voter is sure to win in a majority win election.

Accepted Answer

The median voter theorem states that the median voter, defined as the voter for whom half of the other voters want a policy to the left and half of the voters want a policy to the right, will have their preferred policy win in a majority vote when voters vote closest to their preferences. Therefore, statements I and III are both true, but statement II is false since it assumes that voters may not vote closest to their preferences.

Question 4

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Smoking Ban Policy Spectrum 
-(Figure: Smoking Ban Policy Spectrum) Refer to the figure. If there are only two candidates, A and B, and a smoking ban is the only issue being debated in this election, based on the median voter theorem, which candidate will win the election?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the following to answer questions: Figure:...

Question 5

Politicians have a greater interest in serving the voters' will when:

Accepted Answer

When a policy is highly visible, it means that it is more likely to receive attention from the voters and the media, leading to increased scrutiny and pressure on politicians to serve the will of the voters. Therefore, politicians are more likely to prioritize policies that are highly visible and have broad public support.

Question 6

The median voter theorem holds that the:

Accepted Answer

The median voter theorem states that in a majority rule election, the policy that caters to the preferences of the median voter will have a higher chance of winning than policies further to the left or right. This is because the median voter represents the preferences of the largest group of voters and can swing the election either way. Therefore, choice A is the correct answer.

Question 7

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Smoking Ban Policy Spectrum 
-(Figure: Smoking Ban Policy Spectrum) Refer to the figure. If there are only two candidates, A and B, and a smoking ban is the only issue being debated in this election, which one of the voters is the median voter?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the following to answer questions: Figure:...

Question 8

Which of the following theories works to explain which voters will get their way in a democratic election?

Accepted Answer

The median voter theorem states that in a two-party system, the party which attracts the median voter (the voter whose preferences are exactly in the middle of the distribution of all voters) will win the election. This theory works to explain which voters will get their way in a democratic election.

Question 9

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Smoking Ban Policy Spectrum 
-(Figure: Smoking Ban Policy Spectrum) Refer to the figure. If A, B, and C are all candidates in the election, and a smoking ban is the only issue being debated, based on the median voter theorem which candidate will win the election?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the following to answer questions: Figure:...

Question 10

Figure: Median Voter 1  Suppose the figure above represents the preferences of five voters and two candidates regarding defense spending. According to the figure above, who is the median voter and which candidate will win the election?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Figure: Median Voter 1  Suppose the...

Question 11

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Kidney Trade Ban Policy Spectrum 
-(Figure: Kidney Trade Ban Policy Spectrum) Refer to figure. If A, B, and C are all candidates in the election, and an open market for kidney trading is the only issue being debated, based on the median voter theorem, which candidate will win the election?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the following to answer questions: Figure:...

Question 12

The theory of the median voter may not work if:
I. voters do not vote.
II. voters do not vote for the policy closest to their own positions.
III. there is only a single dimension over which the voting occurs.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The theory of the median voter may...

Question 13

Which of the following explains why extreme candidates rarely win political elections?

Accepted Answer

The median voter theorem states that in a two-candidate election, the candidate who appeals to the median voter (the voter who has preferences exactly in the middle of the distribution of voters) will win. Extreme candidates are less likely to appeal to the median voter, and therefore are less likely to win elections.

Question 14

According to the median voter theorem, when do political outcomes change?

Accepted Answer

According to the median voter theorem, political outcomes change when the preferences of the median voter change. The median voter is defined as the person whose preferences are in the middle of the distribution of voters. As a result, if the median voter changes their preferences, the political outcome will also change. The other options, including changes in consensus, compromise, and voting technology, may be factors that influence political outcomes, but they are not directly related to the median voter theorem.

Question 15

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Kidney Trade Ban Policy Spectrum 
-(Figure: Kidney Trade Ban Policy Spectrum) Refer to the figure. If there are only two candidates, A and B, and an open market for kidney trading is the only issue being debated in this election, which one of the voters is the median voter?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the following to answer questions: Figure:...

Question 16

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Median Voter 2 
-(Figure: Median Voter 2) If taxes are the only issue and the candidates' names are in gray, who votes for John Jackson?

Accepted Answer

John Jackson is positioned at the median voter point, which divides the line into two equal halves. Therefore, the voters on either side of this point would prefer the candidate closer to them on the issue. In this case, the voters to the left of the median voter (Eugene and Andrea) would prefer the candidate who supports higher taxes, while the voters to the right of the median voter (Jeri and Ajay) would prefer the candidate who supports lower taxes. Since John Jackson is positioned closer to the voters on the right, Jeri, Ajay, and Andrea would vote for him.

Question 17

The median voter theorem implies that politicians:

Accepted Answer

The median voter theorem states that in a two-party system, politicians will try to position themselves closer to the center of the political spectrum in order to win over the median voter. Therefore, politicians have an incentive to listen to voters on the issues that they care about and try to win them over.

Question 18

If voters care about two issues such as taxes and war, then politicians:

Accepted Answer

When voters care about two issues, politicians may never converge on a stable outcome because finding a policy that satisfies both issues can be difficult, and different voters may prioritize each issue differently. This means that politicians may have to make compromises or trade-offs between the two issues, potentially leading to unstable or changing policies.

Question 19

When a policy is specialized in its impact, difficult to understand, and affects a small part of the country, it is more likely that:

Accepted Answer

When a policy is specialized in its impact, difficult to understand, and affects a small part of the country, special interest groups are more likely to have greater influence over the outcome because they have more knowledge, resources, and motivation to advocate for their specific interests. This can lead to policies being shaped in favor of these groups rather than in the interest of the general public or the voters.

Question 20

The most important assumption of the median voter theorem is that:

Accepted Answer

The most important assumption of the median voter theorem is that voters vote for the policy closest to their ideal. This is because the theorem states that the median voter - the voter whose ideal policy is exactly in the middle of all voters' ideal policies - will always be the deciding vote and therefore the winning policy will be the one closest to their ideal.

Quiz 21: Political Economy and Public Choice

The theory of the median voter may not work if: I. voters do not vote. II. voters do not vote for the policy closest to their own positions. III. there are multiple dimensions over which the voting occurs.

Politicians have a greater interest in serving the voters' will when:

The median voter theorem holds that the:

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Smoking Ban Policy Spectrum -(Figure: Smoking Ban Policy Spectrum) Refer to the figure. If there are only two candidates, A and B, and a smoking ban is the only issue being debated in this election, which one of the voters is the median voter?

Which of the following theories works to explain which voters will get their way in a democratic election?

Figure: Median Voter 1 Suppose the figure above represents the preferences of five voters and two candidates regarding defense spending. According to the figure above, who is the median voter and which candidate will win the election?

The theory of the median voter may not work if: I. voters do not vote. II. voters do not vote for the policy closest to their own positions. III. there is only a single dimension over which the voting occurs.

Which of the following explains why extreme candidates rarely win political elections?

According to the median voter theorem, when do political outcomes change?

Use the following to answer questions: Figure: Median Voter 2 -(Figure: Median Voter 2) If taxes are the only issue and the candidates' names are in gray, who votes for John Jackson?

The median voter theorem implies that politicians:

If voters care about two issues such as taxes and war, then politicians:

When a policy is specialized in its impact, difficult to understand, and affects a small part of the country, it is more likely that:

The most important assumption of the median voter theorem is that: