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TWO POLITICIANS, A PAC, AND HOW THEY INTERACT: TWO EXTENSIVE FORM GAMES *
Author(s) -
Edelman Susan A.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
economics and politics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1468-0343
pISSN - 0954-1985
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0343.1992.tb00089.x
Subject(s) - ideal (ethics) , ideal point , subgame perfect equilibrium , outcome (game theory) , point (geometry) , mathematical economics , computer science , microeconomics , political science , mathematics , economics , game theory , law , geometry
Two sequential games of the interactions among a PAC and two politicians contesting the same office are developed, and their subgame perfect equilibria are characterized. The politicians have distinct ideal points in policy space, and this drives the result that the policy platforms they campaign on are not identical. The PAC always contributes only to the politician whose platform is closest to the PAC's ideal point, who is the politician whose ideal point is closest to the PAC's ideal point; as a result, both politicians’policy platforms are closer to the PAC's ideal point. The sequence of play does not qualitatively affect the outcome, but the PAC has a second mover advantage. Exogenous shocks to the probabilities of winning only modify the basic outcome.