James d. Gwartney

Trade-offs between different democratic
political institutions
Presidential majoritarian elections
Pros
strong separation of powers possible
Cons
excessive concentration of powers in hands of president
less party discipline, more pork barrel politics
possible paralysis of government
Parliamentary majoritarian elections
Pros
fast and efficient decision-making
strong party discipline
Cons
no separation of powers between executive and legislature
minorities can be durably excluded from government
some minorities and localities may be too favored
Presidential proportional elections
Pros
strong separation of powers possible

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Cons
excessive concentration of powers in hands of president
less party discipline, more pork barrel politics
possible paralysis of government
more fragmentation gives more power to the president and makes clientelism even
worse
Parliamentary proportional elections
Pros
inclusive majorities
strong party discipline
universalistic public goods
Cons
no separation of powers between executive and legislature
slower and less efficient decision-making
excess power to minority government partners
less government stability
Return to Element 3.10

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Suggested Additional Readings
We hope that reading this book has convinced you that economics is not only important, but
also interesting and a great deal of fun. If you want to learn more, there are a number of
introductory textbooks available (including one by two of the authors of the current work), and
these present the ideas we have discussed in greater detail, including with a lot more
graphs. Below we have listed a number of books, some classical and some recent, that will
increase your economic insight and which should be accessible even for those not
mathematically inclined. Please feel free to let us know at 
[e-mail]
which
titles you enjoy and any others you think we should include in the next edition. We will update
this list from time to time as new books are released, so feel free to consult our website at
https://econfun.org
. Happy exploring!
Acemoglu, Daron, and James A. Robinson. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power,
Prosperity, and Poverty. New York: Crown, 2012.
Acton, H. B. The Morals of Markets and Related Essays. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1993.
Alchin, Armen A. and William R. Allen (ed. Jerry L. Jordan). Universal Economics.
Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2018.
Barro, Robert. Nothing is Sacred: Economic Ideas for the New Millennium. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press, 2003.
Becker, Gary. The Economics of Life (Revised). New York: McGraw Hill, 1997.
Becker, Gary and Posner, Richard. Uncommon Sense: Economic Insights, from Marriage to
Terrorism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009.
Boettke, Peter. Living Economics: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Oakland, CA: Independent

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Institute, 2012.
Caplan, Bryan. The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies.
Princeton: Princeton, 2007.
Clark, Anthony. Economics Through Everyday Life: From China & Chili Dogs to Marx &
Marijuana. Berkeley, CA: Zephyros, 2016.
Conard, Edward. Unintended Consequences: Why Everything You've Been Told About the
Economy is Wrong. New York: Portfolio, Penguin, 2012.
Cowen, Tyler. Discover Your Inner Economist: Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your