1.7. The following figure shows the political leanings of 101 voters. Voters will vote for the candidate who is closest to them on the spectrum, as in the typical median voter story. Again as usual, politicians compete against each other, entering the "political market" just as freely as firms enter the economic market back in Chapter 11 .

a. Which group of voters will get their exact wish: the group on the left, the center-left, the center-right, or the right?

Number of voters 50 r- 50 25 --

Left J

25 25

'-

Right

,.

Political orientation

b. Now, four years later, it's time for a new elec tion. Suppose that in the meantime, the two right-leaning groups of voters have merged:

The 25 center-right voters move to the far right, forming a far-right coalition. In the new election, whose position will win now?

c. As you've just seen, there's a "pivotal voter"

in this model. Who is it?