ABSTRACT
Policy decisions are a process of "successive limited comparisons", with each decision building off previous decisions. Just as a boundedly rational decision maker can still be rational, so too can policymakers employing the branch method make rational, or "good", policy decisions. Decision making based on "successive limited comparisons" is the most efficient way to achieve policy agreement. Institutional rules shape policy decisions and can solve collective-action dilemmas that emerge from a rational choice framework. By changing institutional arrangements, such as rules and norms, it is possible to change individual behaviour. If public organizations are producing inefficient or ineffective policy, then one solution is to redesign the institution. The Tiebout model is one of the most influential applications of public choice to public service delivery, and its intellectual heirs continue to shape policy debates in areas ranging from school vouchers to tradable pollution permits.
