The Status Quo in Buchanan’s Constitutional Contractarianism

C. M. Melenovsky ()
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C. M. Melenovsky: Suffolk University

Homo Oeconomicus: Journal of Behavioral and Institutional Economics, 2019, vol. 36, issue 1, No 6, 87-109

Abstract: Abstract When Buchanan discusses the constitutional changes that members of society would agree to, he uses the status quo as the default. If no agreement occurs, we continue with the constitutional rules that are currently in place. This article argues that this choice results in an unjustified status quo bias. To make this point, I examine and challenge three possible arguments in favor of using the status quo as the default. Then, I give two arguments in favor of a form of contractarianism that does not use the status quo as a default.

Keywords: Status quo; James Buchanan; Contractualism; Normative analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B31 B41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s41412-019-00088-3

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