Geoffrey, Suzanne, Jay, and Emma are college roommates. They're trying to decide where the four of them should go for spring break: Las Vegas or Vail. If they order the tickets by 10:00 PM on February 1, the cost will be just $500 per person. If they miss that deadline, the cost rises to $1,200 per person. The following table shows the benefit (in dollar terms) that each roommate would get from the two trips.
Roommate Benefit from Las Vegas Benefit from Vail
Geoffrey $600 $1,300
Suzanne $850 $850
Jay $900 $700
Emma $1,100 $650
The roommates tend to put off making decisions. So, when February 1 rolls around and they still haven't made a decision, they schedule a vote for 9:00 PM that night. In case of a tie, they will flip a coin between the two vacation destinations.
The roommates will get the most total benefit if they choose to go to .
Given the individual benefits each roommate receives from the two trips, which trip will each roommate vote for? Fill in the table with each roommate's preferred location, assuming that a given roommate will abstain if he or she has no preference.
Roommate Vote
Emma
Jay
Suzanne
Geoffrey
Under majority rule, the roommates will vote to go to . Therefore, majority rule leads to an economically outcome.
Suppose Emma misses the vote, leaving Geoffrey, Suzanne, and Jay to figure out where they're going to go.
Geoffrey and Jay argue for their preferred destinations, but Suzanne offers to vote with Geoffrey if Geoffrey will vote on her side in an upcoming class election. This is an example of:.