On political representation

An essential feature of political representation is that a mediating assembly is set between the citizenry and political decision making. Representation involves indirect decision making or agency. Rational actor political theory often assumes representation in order to focus on problems of a principal–agent kind, but offers only relatively weak arguments for representation. We offer an alternative argument for representation that builds on our broader interpretation of rational actor political theory – an interpretation that emphasizes expressive considerations relative to instrumental considerations, and operates in a richer motivational setting. As well as providing an account of representation, we believe that our approach is capable of re-connecting rational actor political theory to many of the concerns of more traditional political theory

Beyond conventional economics: The limits of rational behaviour in political decision making

Beyond Conventional Economics is a diverse collection of eight essays written in honor of public choice legend Geoffrey Brennan. . . There is something here for everyone. . . Eusepi and Hamlin begin this diverse volume with a well-written, informative, and concise introduction. For readers who prefer to pick and choose, Eusepi and Hamlin provide all the guidance you will need. Bryan Caplan, Public Choice . . . our intent in this volume is to give an account of the theoretical endeavours of those who seek to construct an approach to the analysis of political decision making that derives largely from economic theory but also recognises and incorporates other areas of inquiry such as philosophy, more traditional political theory and psychology. This volume presents a critical examination of themes relevant to both human behaviour and economics and political institutions. . . it also offers a state of-the-art tour of new paradigms challenging the dominant economic notion of the individual. From the introduction by the editors Beyond Conventional Economics presents new original work from leading scholars on the interface between the individual and political and social institutions. The book offers a critique of the inadequacies of the conventional economic approach to politics and a state-of-the-art view of new paradigms challenging the dominant economic notion of the individual. A number of chapters also explore the limits of individually rational behaviour in political decision making some by challenging the orthodox content of the idea of rationality, others by providing fresh views on the operation of political processes. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding individual behaviour under limited rationality. Thought-provoking and enlightening, this is a unique book documenting a meaningful debate on the limits of rational behaviour inside public choice circles and will appeal to a wide audience of economists, political scientists and public choice scholars

Estrogen-dependent regulation of neurokinin 3 receptor-mediated uterine contractility in the rat

The receptors for neurokinin 1 (NK1-R), neurokinin 2 (NK2-R), and neurokinin 3 (NK3-R) are expressed and functionally active in the uterus, promoting strong contractions of the myometrium. Previously, we demonstrated that myometrial contractility activated by the NK-Rs is regulated by estrogen. In the current study, we furthered our investigations of the role of estrogen in the regulation of NK3-R-mediated myometrial contractility. Estrogen promotes both heterologous and homologous desensitization of NK3-R-mediated uterine contractility. In tissue obtained from estrogen-dominated rats (ovariectomized estrogen-treated rats and rats in estrus), the magnitude of uterine contractions decreased in response to consecutive additions of the NK3-R-selective agonist senktide. By addition of the fourth dose of agonist, the contractile response was routinely barely above baseline. In contrast, in tissue obtained from non-estrogen-dominated rats consecutive doses of senktide resulted in contractions of identical magnitude. The homologous desensitization was specific to the NK3-R, and the desensitization of the NK3-R-mediated response did not affect the magnitude or nature of uterine contractions in response to NK1-R or NK2-R activation. Furthermore, heterologous and homologous desensitization of NK3-R-mediated contractility is dependent upon the duration of exposure to estrogen. This complex mechanism appears to be important in intact tissue; capsaicin-mediated release of endogenous neuropeptides resulted in a desensitization of response to subsequent stimulation with senktide in estrogen-dominated uterine tissue