Information,special interests,and single-issue voting

The purpose of this paper has been to explore some of the implications of single-issue voting. In general terms, single-issue voting has been shown to be a stabilizing influence on majoritarian decision making. In each case examined, stable equilibria exist under single-issue voting. On the other hand, the normative properties of electoral outcomes are less clear cut. Under pure zealotry, electoral equilibria are uniformly Pareto efficient. However, electoral outcomes are not necessarily Pareto optimal in the case of strategic voting by special interest groups. The results suggest that single-issue voting can, by itself, cause electoral outcomes to depart from the center of the distribution of voter ideal points. Special interest groups might, thus, be served in the ordinary course of electoral politics even if they had no recourse to campaign contributions or rent-seeking activities which induce principal-agent problems. Voters who cast their votes as if they were single-issue voters can affect policy at both the largely ignored margins and in the mainstream of policy formation. Voting is enough.     

Corrections

The introductory statement accompanying the article Hong KongTrusts-A Moveable Feast? by Peter Hodson, Bank of Bermuda, HongKong, should have read: "The exportation of trusts from one jurisdiction to anotheris an established element in trust administration". The spelling was somewhat irregular. My apologies to Mr Hodson and the Bank of Bermuda Roger Shier     

Reviews

Prof. W. E. Butler (ed.). Russian Law: Historical and Political Perspectives. Leyden: A. W. Sijthoff, 1977, xi + 266 pp. Dfl. 76.00. $31.50

Peter H. Solomon, Jr., Soviet Criminologists and Criminal Policy. Specialists in Policy‐Making. London: Macmillan Press, 1978. x + 253 pp. £10.00.

Mawdsley, E. The Russian Revolution and the Baltic Fleet. War and Politics, February 1917—April 1918. London: Macmillan (in association with the School of Slavonic and East European Studies), 1978. xv + 213 pp., ill., map, bibl.

George Garvey, Money, Financial Flows and Credit in the Soviet Union. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger Publishing Co., 1977 (published for the National Bureau of Economic Research Inc.). xii + 223 pp. £11.00.

Stanislaw J. Sawicki, Soviet Land and Housing Law, a Historical and Comparative Study, New York, London: Praeger Publishers, 1977. xxiii + 199 pp. £13.05.

Hélène Carrère d'Encausse: L'empire éclaté. Paris: Flammarion, 1978, 314 pp.

S. G. Solomon, The Soviet agrarian debate, a controversy in social science, 1923–1929. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1977. xvi + 309 pp. $15.25.

David Lane and Felicity O'Dell, The Soviet Industrial Worker: Social Class, Education and Control. Oxford: Martin Robertson, 1978. 167 pp. £7.95.     

Fiscal, Service, and Political Impacts of Indianapolis-Marion County's Unigov

This article describes how city and county governments were,and were not, consolidated under Unigov in 1969, a measure thatfell substantially short of a complete consolidation. The articlethen reviews the available evidence concerning Unigov's effectson service delivery and performance, public finance, economicdevelopment, and voter participation. The available record suggeststhat Unigov has enhanced (1) the stability of Indianapolis'political leadership by establishing one-party control of localgovernment; (2) the effectiveness of its economic developmentstrategy of public subsidization of private developments; and(3) the ability of Indianapolis to shift a greater share ofthe burden for its expenditures to the state and federal governments.There is little evidence that Unigov has (1) reduced the numberof service provision, production, or taxing units in the county;(2) improved central-city residents' satisfaction with theirlocal public services; or (3) effected a substantial redistributionof the financial base for those local services. Instead, thereis some evidence to the contrary.     

Fatal Phenol Toxicity Following Attempted Tattoo Removal

Tattoo removal is increasingly required as the number of, particularly young, people acquiring tattoos is increasing. A 21‐year‐old man is reported who underwent attempted removal of large dragon tattoo utilizing a tattoo machine that injected a phenol‐containing solution. At the end of the 3‐h procedure, he collapsed and died. At autopsy, large areas of white skin discoloration with focal necrosis and sloughing were present overlying areas of previous tattooing. Histological examination showed collections of eosinophilic fluid with a minimal chronic inflammatory infiltrate in better preserved areas, with focal areas of dermal necrosis. Toxicology was positive for phenol in cardiac blood and liver tissue. There were no underlying organic disease or injuries present which could have caused or contributed to death. This idiosyncratic method of tattoo removal involving subcutaneous injection of phenol had resulted in death most likely from cardiotoxicity.     

Variable Presentations of Lethal Colloid Cysts

Four cases of colloid cysts that led to death are reported to demonstrate their nonspecific and protean presentations at autopsy: a 27‐year‐old man with severe occipital headache, blurred vision, drowsiness and vomiting; a 44‐year‐old man with recent memory disturbance; a 54‐year‐old man with head and neck pains, tiredness, urinary incontinence, confusion, and drowsiness; and a 66‐year‐old man with severe frontal headache, gait disturbance, vomiting, and syncope with a previous episode of confusion and disorientation. Each death was due to an occult colloid cyst obstructing the foramen of Monro causing acute hydrocephalus. Nonspecific manifestations may mean that the diagnosis of colloid cyst is only made at the time of autopsy. The possibility of rare cases being familial may necessitate medical review of family members. Forensic evaluation should identify how a colloid cyst was related to the mechanism of death and whether there are any features that were associated with precipitate decline.     

Blunt Craniofacial Trauma as a Manifestation of Excited Delirium Caused by New Psychoactive Substances

The body of a 19‐year‐old male was found apparently concealed underneath bushes with recent head and facial trauma, and multiple superficial abrasions. Subsequently, it was discovered that the decedent had been running into objects and buildings following the ingestion the evening before of what was thought to be lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Blood staining of a nearby wall close to where the body was lying was in keeping with the described behavior. Toxicology revealed 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy), in addition to two only recently available drugs 2‐(4‐bromo‐2,5‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐N‐[(2‐methoxyphenyl)methyl]ethanamine, (25B‐NBOMe), and 1‐(3,4‐methylenedioxyphenyl)‐2‐(1‐pyrrolidinyl)‐1‐butanone, (MDPBP). At autopsy, the skull was fractured with cerebral swelling, contusions, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Death was due to blunt cranial trauma against a background of mixed drug toxicity. The case demonstrates a rare cause of death in a drug‐induced acute delirium, as well as highlighting two new designer street drugs that may result in significant aberrant behavior.