Checking my email today, I felt frustrated by yet another reminder to vote in our dorm's student council election. While I've often faced criticism from my friends for my reluctance to vote, following Thursday's lecture, I've realized that my decision not to vote isn't due to laziness but instead is me innately following the rational voter hypothesis.
Lambeth is home to approximately 600 students, and I'm confident that the probability (P) of my vote influencing the election is very low (1/600 is almost negligible). Since I'm indifferent to the policies of the candidates, my Benefit (B) is effectively zero. Regarding costs, I've chosen to value my time at $15 per hour (equivalent to my current wage) and estimate that the process of watching the candidates' videos, reading their testimonials, and casting my vote takes about 30 minutes, costing me approximately $7.5 (C). When applying the formula PB - C (Mueller 14.1), the result is -7.5 (0*0 - 7.5). From a purely rational perspective, as this value is less than zero, it suggests that it is not in my self-interest to vote
1 comment:
This is an excellent demonstration of the rationality of not voting when you are indifferent between the policies of two candidates. Spending time working rather than researching to vote for something that essentially means nothing to you is a negative proposition.
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