The Limits of Public Choice

Ideas cannot be imported wholesale from economics to political science. Through empirical evidence and theoretical analysis the author argues that sociological as well as economic theories must be accommodated.
Public choice has been one of the most important developments in the social sciences in the last twenty years. However there are many people who are frustrated by the uncritical importing of ideas from economics into political science. Public Choice uses both empirical evidence and theoretical analysis to argue that the economic theory of politics is limited in scope and fertility. In order to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of political life, political scientists must learn from both economists and sociologists.