EPERN is excited to host Randall Holcombe for a discussion of his new book, “Following Their Leaders.”

Models of democratic decision-making tend to assume that voters have preferences and that candidates adjust their platforms to conform with those preferences; however, the direction of causation is largely the opposite. Political elites offer policy platforms to voters, and voters adopt those policies - they follow their leaders. Following Their Leaders argues that policies are designed by the elite and the electorate has little say. Preferences for public policy tend to be anchored in a political identity associated with a candidate, party, or ideology; voters' preferences on most issues are derived from their anchor preferences. Holcombe argues that because citizens adopt the policies offered by the elite, democratic institutions are ineffective constraints on the exercise of political power. This volume explores political institutions that help control the elite who exercise political power and discusses the implications political preferences have on democracies.

Randall G. Holcombe, DeVoe Moore Professor of Economics at Florida State University, previously taught at Texas A&M and Auburn University. A Senior Fellow at the James Madison Institute, he served on Governor Jeb Bush’s Economic Advisors Council. Author of fifteen books, including "Political Capitalism", his research focuses on public finance and policy analysis.