Anthony Downs
Encyclopedia
Anthony Downs is a scholar in public policy
and public administration
, and since 1977 is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution
in Washington D.C..
and later a Ph.D. in economics
from Stanford University
.
. President Lyndon B. Johnson
appointed him to the National Commission on Urban Problems in 1967, and HUD Secretary Jack Kemp
appointed him to the Advisory Commission on Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing in 1989. He is officer or trustee of General Growth Properties
and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
.
He is the author or co-author of 24 books and over 500 articles. His most influential books are An Economic Theory of Democracy
(1957) and Inside Bureaucracy (1967); widely translated, both are credited as major influences on the public choice school of political economy
. Later, Downs concerned himself with housing policy, writing about rent control
and housing affordability. The Revolution in Real Estate Finance (1985) predicted a long-term housing slowdown and decrease in housing prices. Most recently, Downs has involved himself with transportation economics. His book Stuck in Traffic (1992), which detailed the economic disadvantages of traffic congestion and proposed road pricing
as the only effective means of alleviating it, was denounced by traffic engineers for its insistence on the futility of congestion relief measures. However, enough of his gloomy predictions about congestion were proven right that he successfully published a second edition, Still Stuck in Traffic (2004). Downs' recommendations are starting to see implementation, largely in the form of high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in the medians of crowded American freeways, and through congestion pricing
, already implemented in several cities around the world: Singapore
(see Area Licensing Scheme and Electronic Road Pricing
); London
(see London congestion charge
); Stockholm
(see Stockholm congestion tax
); Valletta
, Malta
; and Milan
(1957), Downs introduced a left-right axis
to economic theory. On the 'left' he placed communistic parties, who want an entirely state-planned economy, on the 'right' those liberals, who demand an entirely deregulated economy. He claimed that most voters have incomplete information when voting for political candidates in a democracy, and therefore will resort to economic issues of "how much government intervention in the economy there should be" and how parties will control this. Downs borrowed the curve from Harold Hotelling
, who developed it to explain how grocery stores went after customers. Downs' book has since become one of the most cited books in political science
. His left-right axis model has been integrated into the median voter theory
first articulated by Duncan Black
.
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
and public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
, and since 1977 is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
in Washington D.C..
Education
Downs received a B.A. from Carleton CollegeCarleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
and later a Ph.D. in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Career
Downs has served as a consultant to many of the nation's largest corporations and public officials, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
appointed him to the National Commission on Urban Problems in 1967, and HUD Secretary Jack Kemp
Jack Kemp
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
appointed him to the Advisory Commission on Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing in 1989. He is officer or trustee of General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois at 110 North Wacker Drive, a historic building designed by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White...
and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City....
.
He is the author or co-author of 24 books and over 500 articles. His most influential books are An Economic Theory of Democracy
An Economic Theory of Democracy
An Economic Theory of Democracy is a political science treatise written by Anthony Downs, published in 1957. The book set forth a model with precise conditions under which economic theory could be applied to non-market political decision-making. It also suggested areas of empirical research that...
(1957) and Inside Bureaucracy (1967); widely translated, both are credited as major influences on the public choice school of political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. Later, Downs concerned himself with housing policy, writing about rent control
Rent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
and housing affordability. The Revolution in Real Estate Finance (1985) predicted a long-term housing slowdown and decrease in housing prices. Most recently, Downs has involved himself with transportation economics. His book Stuck in Traffic (1992), which detailed the economic disadvantages of traffic congestion and proposed road pricing
Road pricing
Road pricing is an economic concept regarding the various direct charges applied for the use of roads. The road charges includes fuel taxes, licence fees, parking taxes, tolls, and congestion charges, including those which may vary by time of day, by the specific road, or by the specific vehicle...
as the only effective means of alleviating it, was denounced by traffic engineers for its insistence on the futility of congestion relief measures. However, enough of his gloomy predictions about congestion were proven right that he successfully published a second edition, Still Stuck in Traffic (2004). Downs' recommendations are starting to see implementation, largely in the form of high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in the medians of crowded American freeways, and through congestion pricing
Congestion pricing
Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of a transport network in periods of peak demand to reduce traffic congestion. Examples include some toll-like road pricing fees, and higher peak charges for utilities, public transport and slots in canals and airports...
, already implemented in several cities around the world: Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
(see Area Licensing Scheme and Electronic Road Pricing
Electronic Road Pricing
The Electronic Road Pricing scheme is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlement system...
); London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(see London congestion charge
London congestion charge
The London congestion charge is a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within the Congestion Charge Zone , a traffic area in London. The charge aims to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London's transport system...
); Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(see Stockholm congestion tax
Stockholm congestion tax
The Stockholm congestion tax , also found referred to as the Stockholm congestion charge, is a congestion pricing system implemented as a tax levied on most vehicles entering and exiting central Stockholm, Sweden...
); Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
; and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
Downsian Axis
In his seminal work An Economic Theory of DemocracyAn Economic Theory of Democracy
An Economic Theory of Democracy is a political science treatise written by Anthony Downs, published in 1957. The book set forth a model with precise conditions under which economic theory could be applied to non-market political decision-making. It also suggested areas of empirical research that...
(1957), Downs introduced a left-right axis
Political spectrum
A political spectrum is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions....
to economic theory. On the 'left' he placed communistic parties, who want an entirely state-planned economy, on the 'right' those liberals, who demand an entirely deregulated economy. He claimed that most voters have incomplete information when voting for political candidates in a democracy, and therefore will resort to economic issues of "how much government intervention in the economy there should be" and how parties will control this. Downs borrowed the curve from Harold Hotelling
Harold Hotelling
Harold Hotelling was a mathematical statistician and an influential economic theorist.He was Associate Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University from 1927 until 1931, a member of the faculty of Columbia University from 1931 until 1946, and a Professor of Mathematical Statistics at the...
, who developed it to explain how grocery stores went after customers. Downs' book has since become one of the most cited books in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. His left-right axis model has been integrated into the median voter theory
Median voter theory
The median voter theory, also known as the median voter theorem or Black's theorem, is a famous voting theorem. It posits that in a majority election, if voter policy preferences can be represented as a point along a single dimension, if all voters vote deterministically for the politician who...
first articulated by Duncan Black
Duncan Black
Duncan Black was a Scottish economist who laid the foundations of social choice theory. In particular he was responsible for unearthing the work of many early political scientists, including Charles Dodgson, and was responsible for the Black electoral system, a Condorcet method whereby, in the...
.
See also
- Public Choice TheoryPublic choice theoryIn economics, public choice theory is the use of modern economic tools to study problems that traditionally are in the province of political science...
- Rational Choice TheoryRational choice theoryRational choice theory, also known as choice theory or rational action theory, is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the main theoretical paradigm in the currently-dominant school of microeconomics...
- Simon Fraser University's City Program has a podcast of a presentation by him called, Shaping the Region’s Future: Connecting Land Use and Transportation.