Efficient_Voter_Rule
In the study of voter behavior, the efficient voter rule speaks to the desirability of voter-driven outcomes. It applies to situations involving negative externalities such as pollution and crime, and positive externalities such as education. Related efforts to achieve socially optimal quantities of externalities have long been a focus of microeconomic research, most famously by Ronald Coase[1] and Arthur Pigou.[2] Externality problems persist despite past remedies, which makes newer approaches such as the efficient voter rule important.
In the context of negative externalities, the efficient voter rule states that when individuals who receive the same harm from a problem vote on whether to eliminate that problem at a uniform cost per individual, the outcome will be efficient, regardless of each individual’s contribution to the problem.[3] The Rule applies similarly to positive externalities, as exemplified by the solar panel example below.
The efficient voter rule indicates that voting on a collective action or policy change should lead to an efficient outcome.[4] Possible applications include policy decisions about clean energy, noise pollution, over-fishing, mandatory immunizations, smoking bans, zoning, septic systems, and fuel economy standards.
In the context of crime, recent applications include votes on the strict enforcement of traffic laws. The vote in Tucson, Arizona, on whether to use cameras to catch drivers who run red lights provides one example. The community voted against this strict level of enforcement. According to the efficient voter rule, this outcome indicates that community members collectively received a greater benefit from occasionally skirting the law than from protection from malfeasance.
The literature[5][6] explains why the efficient voter rule applies even if individuals cause differing levels of damage and if a given amount of damage from each individual is completely external.