Public Choice Theory Explains SO MUCH | Episode 33 | Everything is Everything

We tend to think of the government as the solution to all our problems. But governments are people. And people respond to incentives.

Welcome to Episode 33 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay talk about a branch of economics that they both love: Public Choice Theory. This is the study of how politicians, bureaucrats, special interests and voters all respond to incentives -- and why this often goes against the interest of We the People. This is why government failure is ubiquitous.

This is an essential episode as a stand-alone -- but you can also watch it in conjunction with our earlier episodes on the state:

1. Understanding the State -- Episode 25 of Everything is Everything:    • Understanding the State | Episode 25 ...  
2. When Should the State Act? -- Episode 26 of Everything is Everything:    • When Should the State Act?  | Episode...  

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

00:00 Packaging
00:13 Introduction: The Bodybuilders
00:37 Chapter 1: Why We Love Public Choice Theory
06:01 Chapter 2: Some Resources
08:05 Chapter 3: The Incentives of Politicians
15:38 Chapter 4: The Role of Special Interests
26:10 Chapter 5: The Incentives of Bureaucrats
35:55 Chapter 6: Now Let’s Talk About Voters!
49:46 Chapter 7: The Importance of a Constitution

USEFUL RESOURCES:
1. Amit on Twitter:   / amitvarma  
2. Ajay on Twitter:   / ajay_shah  
3. The Seen and the Unseen -- Amit's audio podcast: https://seenunseen.in/
(Also on all podcast apps. And YouTube, though less than 1% of listens come from here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSeenAndTh...)
4. Ajay's organisation, XKDR Forum, on YouTube:    / @xkdr  
5. In Service of the Republic -- Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah: https://amzn.eu/d/hwGILb3
6. The Art of Clear Writing -- Amit's writing course: https://indiauncut.com/clear-writing/
7. Public Choice Theory -- Episode 121 of The Seen and the Unseen:    • Ep. 121: Public Choice Theory  
8. Public Choice – A Primer -- Eamonn Butler: https://iea.org.uk/publications/resea...
9. The Calculus of Consent -- James M Buchanan and Gordon Tullock: https://amzn.eu/d/4EsBJdZ
10. The Logic of Collective Action -- Mancur Olson: https://amzn.eu/d/65DWdCe
11. An Economic Theory of Democracy -- Anthony Downs: https://amzn.eu/d/icd5Mgi
12. Where Have All the Leaders Gone? — Amit Varma: http://tinyurl.com/3nynebsa
13. Price Controls Lead to Shortages and Harm the Poor -- Amit Varma: https://indiauncut.com/price-controls...
14. Politics -- Amit Varma's limerick: https://indiauncut.com/politics-and-m...
15. A Few Thoughts on Limericks -- Amit Varma: https://indiauncut.com/a-few-thoughts...
16. Restaurant Regulations -- Episode 18 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Madhu Menon):    • Ep. 18: Restaurant Regulations  
17. The Great Redistribution -- Amit Varma: https://indiauncut.com/the-great-redi...
18. Government's End: Why Washington Stopped Working -- Jonathan Rauch: https://amzn.eu/d/gzQ7KeG
19. William A Niskanen on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/2nnrndza
20. Parkinson's Law -- C Northcote Parkinson: https://amzn.eu/d/bykwKPE
21. The Life and Times of KP Krishnan -- Episode 355 of The Seen and the Unseen:    • Ep 355: The Life and Times of KP Kris...  
22. Housefull Economics on Pragati: https://www.thinkpragati.com/category...
23. The Economics of Voting -- Amit Varma: http://tinyurl.com/yx5cmz9d
24. A Life in Indian Politics — Episode 149 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Jayaprakash Narayan):    • Ep. 149: A life in Indian Politics  
25. The Gentle Wisdom of Pratap Bhanu Mehta -- Episode 300 of The Seen and the Unseen:    • Ep 300: The Gentle Wisdom of Pratap B...  
26. Arrow's impossibility theorem: http://tinyurl.com/5a4tw56c
27. The Anti-Defection Law — Episode 13 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Barun Mitra):    • Ep. 13: Anti-Defection Law  
28. Our Parliament and Our Democracy — Episode 253 of The Seen and the Unseen (w MR Madhavan):    • Ep 253: Our Parliament and Our Democracy  
29. Vitalik Buterin Fights the Dragon-Tyrant -- Episode 342 of The Seen and the Unseen:    • Ep 342: Vitalik Buterin Fights the Dr...  
30. The First Assault on Our Constitution — Episode 194 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tripurdaman Singh):    • Ep 194: The First Assault on Our Cons...  
31. Shruti Rajagopalan on our constitutional amendments:    • Shruti Rajagopalan on "Incompatibilit...  .

Produced by Amit Varma
Shot by Vaishnav Vyas and Nomsita MS Haritashya:   / vaishnav.vyas  
Edited by Nomsita MS Haritashya:   / nomsitaharitashya  
Thanks to Gaurav Chintamani for helping with sound:   / gaurav_chintamani  
Chapter images & additional illustrations by Simahina:   / i_am_simahina