Rational actor theory and the facts of political participation have long been in an uneasy relationship. Many citizens vote and take part in other political activities when theory would predict that they would take a free ride. This paper draws on several analyses of citizen participation for some of which rational actor theory is quite useful and for others it is less so. It attempts to specify the conditions under which the theory is applicable. It concludes that rational actor theory is more potent when applied to issues of cost rather than benefits or when the goals of participation can be specified in a clear manner and one can measure their degree of attainment.
Aldrich, John H.
(1993) `Rational Choice and Turnout', American Journal of Political Science37: 247-247.
2.
Attfield, Clifford L.F
, D. Demery and N.W. Duck (eds) (1991) Rational Expectations in Economics, 2nd edn.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
3.
Barry, Brian
(1978) Sociologists, Economists and Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
4.
Becker, Gary S.
(1965) `A Theory of the Allocation of Time', Economic Journal75: 493-517.
5.
Becker, Gary S.
(1975) Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, With Special Reference to Education, 2nd edn.New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.
6.
Becker, Gary S.
(1976), The Economic Approach to Human Behavior. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
7.
Brady, Henry E.
, Kay Lehman Schlozman and Sidney Verba (1999) `Prospecting for Participants: Rational Expectations and the Recruitment of Political Activists', American Political Science Review93: 153-168.
8.
Brennan, Geoffrey
and James Buchanan (1984) `Voter Choice: Evaluating Political Alternatives', The American Behavioral Scientist28: 185-201
9.
Brennan, Geoffrey
and Loren Lomasky (1993) Democracy and Decision: The Pure Theory of Electoral Preference. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
10.
Brown, Clifford W.
, Lynda Powell and Clyde Wilconx (1995) Serious Money: Fundraising and Contributing in Presidential Nominating Campaigns. New York: Cambridge University Press.
11.
Davidson, Donald
(1980) `Actions, Reasons, and Causes', in Essays on Actions and Events, New York: Oxford University Press.
12.
Deaton, Angus
and John Muellbauer (1980) Economics and Consumer Behavior. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
13.
Finke, Roger
and Rodney Stark (1992) The Churching of America, 1776-1990: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
14.
Hirschman, Albert O.
(1982) Shifting Involvements: Private Interests and Public Action. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
15.
Huckfeldt, Robert
(1993) `Citizens, Contexts, and Politics', in Ada W. Finifter (ed.) Political Science: The State of the Discipline, pp. 291-304. Washington, D.C.: American Political Science Association.
16.
Huckfeldt, Robert
and John Sprague (1992) `Political Parties and Electoral Mobilization: Political Structure, Social Structure, and the Party Canvass', American Political Science Review86: 70-86.
17.
Knoke, David
(1990) `Networks of Political Action: Toward Theory Construction', Social Forces68: 1041-1063.
18.
Mansbridge, Jane J.
(1990) `The Rise and Fall of Self-Interest in Explanation of Political Life', in Jane J. Mansbridge (ed.) Beyond Self-Interest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
19.
Michael, Robert T.
(1973) `Education in Nonmarket Production', Journal of Political Economy81: 306-327.
20.
Michael, Robert T.
and Gary S. Becker (1973) `On the New Theory of Consumer Behavior', Swedish Journal of Economics75: 378-396.
21.
Monroe, Kristen Renwick
(1996) The Heart of Altruism: Perceptions of a Common Humanity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
22.
Muller, Edward N.
and Karl-Dieter Opp (1986), `Rational choice and rebellious collective action', American Political Science Review80: 471-487.
23.
Riker, William
and Peter Ordeshook (1968) `A Theory of the Calculus of Voting', American Political Science Review62: 25-42.
24.
Rosenstone, Steven J.
and John Mark Hansen (1993) Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York: Macmillan.
25.
Sheffrin, Steven M.
(1983) Rational Expectations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
26.
Verba, S.
, K.L. Schlozman and H.E. Brady (1995) Voice and Equality.
27.
Wilson, James Q.
(1973) Political Organizations. New York: Basic Books.
