1. An approach to the analysis of economic policy that emphasizes the motivations of bureaucrats and politicians. The public choice literature stresses that the ability of the government to improve on the market outcome has to be proved rather than asserted. This follows from the assumption that bureaucrats and politicians are economically rational and enter government for their own advantage. The pursuit of self-advantage is constrained imperfectly by the electoral mechanism. Only when the objectives of those in government are consistent with the needs of broader society will government action be generally beneficial.

2. An alternative name for social choice.