Logrolling and strategic preferences for high-transaction-cost legislative dynamics A quid pro quo level-k approach

Abstract

This paper introduces a proposal to consolidate concepts from different branches of economics, such as logrolling and the theory of levels of k-reasoning, to argue how legislators' preferences might vary in a mutually beneficial exchange of votes. It explores the possible forms that utility functions could take under transaction cost contexts such as ideological distance and delay in the processing of a bill proposal. It highlights arguments suggesting that a higher k-level could lead legislators to tend toward voting in favor of a coalition. Additionally, it incorporates a logrolling logic model through the conditional probability that the same coalition forms over two consecutive periods. Simultaneously, the article provides a historical overview of logrolling studies and legislative dynamics, considering both psychosocial and behavioral aspects of social choice.