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Duncan Black and group decision-making: from early priority dispute to late recognition

Author

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  • Herrade Igersheim

    (BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

As Amadae observed in her 2003 Rationalizing Capitalist Democracy, "the priority dispute between Black and Arrow over the mathematical analysis of election problems was bitter and unresolved." Arrow's 1951 Social Choice and Individual Values would subsequently overshadow Black's contributions. Based on a study of Black's, Tullock's, and Coase's papers (housed at the University of Glasgow, Hoover Archives -Stanford University, and the University of Chicago respectively), the present article aims to provide a historical reconstruction of the dispute between the two authors and to show its implications for Black's scientific and personal life. The article also brings to light the strong assistance that Black received from American researchers (Coase, Tullock, Riker) from the 1960s onwards, before finally being recognized as the "founding father" of public choice.

Suggested Citation

  • Herrade Igersheim, 2025. "Duncan Black and group decision-making: from early priority dispute to late recognition," Post-Print hal-05230470, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05230470
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-025-01315-z
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05230470v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Beatrice Cherrier & Jean-Baptiste Fleury, 2017. "Economists’ interest in collective decision after World War II: a history," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 23-44, July.
    2. Amadae, S.M., 2003. "Rationalizing Capitalist Democracy," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226016535.
    3. Iain McLean, 2015. "The strange history of social choice, and the contribution of the Public Choice Society to its fifth revival," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 153-165, April.
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