Public choice theory

Definition

Public choice theory (also called public choice economics) refers to the use of economic tools to study the actions of political actors. Specifically, it incorporates a key assumption that political actors are largely motivated by self-interest and hence respond to incentives.

It is a positive (as opposed to a normative) approach to the study of politics, i.e., it aims to describes how political actors do behave rather than how they should behave.