Background
Schofield, Norman James was born on January 30, 1944 in Rothesay, Bute, Scotland. Son of James Schofield and Muriel (MacIlravey) McDermott.
( The politics of coalition--the very heart of the politi...)
The politics of coalition--the very heart of the political process in most European countries--can be analyzed either theoretically or empirically. Multiparty Government reconciles these approaches. It gives students of European politics access to the insights of contemporary theory while applying it to an analysis of real-world coalition politics. Michael Laver and Norman Schofield examine five basic themes: the identity and motivation of the actors in the coalition game; the eventual membership of the coalitions they form; their durability; the payoffs that are shared out by coalition members; and the impact of constitutional bargaining, behavioral, and historical constraints on the process of coalition bargaining. They illustrate their discussion of theory with a range of detailed case studies. Multiparty Government offers an accessible approach that bridges the gap between the "European politics" and "game theory" traditions of political science, and puts the systematic study of the politics of coalition on the broader political science map. "Laver and Schofield's book is at the same time accessible, pithy, down-to-earth, insightful, and yes, even captivating. In its scope and quality, it has no rival in the literature of party coalitions . . . all students of political parties or legislative behavior should allow themselves the privilege of being educated and entertained by Laver and Schofield's fine book." --American Political Science Review Michael Laver is Professor of Political Science and Sociology, University College, Galway. His books include Playing Politics; Private Desires, Political Action: An Invitation to the Politics of Rational Choice; The Crime Game; and Social Choice and Public Policy. Norman Schofield is Professor and Director, Center in Political Economy, Washington University. He is the author of Statistics: Theory & Practice in the Social Sciences; Mathematical Methods in Economics; and Social Choice and Democracy.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047208562X/?tag=2022091-20
(This study examines five basic themes in the politics of ...)
This study examines five basic themes in the politics of coalition government: the identity and motivation of those involved in the coalition; the eventual membership of the coalition as they form; their durability; the payoffs that are shared out by coalition members; and the impact of constitutional, behavioral, and historical constraints on the process of bargaining. Offering a wide range of detailed case studies, this discussion reconciles both theoretical and empirical approaches to provide insight into contemporary coalition governments in Europe. The politics of coalition is inherent in the political process of most European countries. Coalition may be analyzed either theoretically or empirically; this study reconciles both approaches. Providing insight into contemporary coalition theory, and placing it in the context of coalition politics, this work examines five basic themes: the identity and motivation of those involved in coalition politics; the eventual membership of coalitions; durability; payoffs; and the impact of constitutional, behavioral, and historical constraints on the process of coalition bargaining.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198272936/?tag=2022091-20
(The mathematical theory of voting has intellectual roots ...)
The mathematical theory of voting has intellectual roots extending back two centuries to the writings of Borda and Condorcet. Yet it has only been in the last forty years that general theorems have begun to emerge. With the publication of this volume, Norman Schofield brings the results together in a ,common framework. SOCIAL CHOICE AND DEMOCRACY, however, is not merely a synthetic exercise, for Schofield's own work over the last decade has constituted a major initiative in deepening and' broadening our general understanding of voting arrangements. At last the results of his research, bits and pieces of which have been reported in a number of journals of international standing and in various collections, are coherently and systematically presented as an entirety. For students of democracy -- chiefly philosophers and political scientists, but increasingly economists as well -- the insights of this volume are profound. From it I infer the following.
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Schofield, Norman James was born on January 30, 1944 in Rothesay, Bute, Scotland. Son of James Schofield and Muriel (MacIlravey) McDermott.
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Liverpool University, 1966. Doctor of Letters, Liverpool University, 1986. Doctor of Philosophy in Government, Essex University, 1976.
Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, Essex University, 1985.
Associate professor University Texas, Austin, 1976-1979. Reader in economics University Essex, Colchester, England, 1979-1986. Hallsworth fellow University Manchester, England, 1982-1983.
Sherman Fairchild fellow California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, 1983-1984, visiting professor, 1984-1985. Fellow Center for Advanced Study, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 1988-1989. Professor economics Washington University, St. Louis, since 1986.
Director Center in Political Economy Washington University, since 1990, William Taussig professor political economy, since 1991. Lecturer government University Essex, 1970. Lecturer political science Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1973.
Consultant Productive Employment Program, Los Angeles, 1984. Research political scientist University Irvine, Irvine, California, 1984-1985.
(This study examines five basic themes in the politics of ...)
( The politics of coalition--the very heart of the politi...)
(The mathematical theory of voting has intellectual roots ...)
(BOOK)
Author: Social Choice and Democracy, 1985. Co-author: Statistical Methods in Social Sciences, 1986, Multiparty Government, 1990. Editor: Economic Relations between North and South, 1984.
My original training was in physics and mathematics, and as a graduate student at Liverpool I studied differential topology and dynamical systems. I was particularly impressed by the work of René Thom in catastrophe theory, and by the applications of this theory to the social sciences made by Chris Zeeman. While in the mathematics department at Essex I did some work in game theory and social choice, and was happy to move over to the department of government.
In the early 1970s I came across the work of Steven Smale on applying singularity theory to general equilibrium theory, and eventually wrote up a doctoral thesis on the applications of singularity theory to social choice. Some of this work was published in the Review of Economic Studies, and Journal of Economic Theory. Over the next few
years at the University of Texas, Austin, I developed these methods to show that general social choice processes involving coalitions are fundamentally chaotic.
More precisely I showed that such processes are classified by two integers, the stability and instability dimensions. Below the stability dimension, equilibria exist, while above the instability integers, chaos occurs almost always. Although the theorem has obvious relevance in political theory, there is no reason to suppose that economic systems are not similarly classifiable.
My other interests are in game theory, with application, for example, in international economics, and I am becoming increasingly interested in the theory of knowledge. It seems to me that games (of chess, of life, of economic behaviour, etc.) are only partly describable in terms of utility maximisation but instead have as a key feature the generation of knowledge (about nature, other players, etc.). It is not clear as yet how to represent such games and the more fundamental question is how to represent knowledge itself.
Member Society for Promotion of Economic Theory, American Economic Association, Public Choice Society.
Painting.
Married Elizabeth Mary Moore, July 29, 1967. Children: Thomas, Isobel, Camilla.