Instructor: Paul Gölz (mail@paulgoelz.de)
TA: Gabriel Morete de Azevedo (gm587@cornell.edu)
Lectures: Mon/Wed 2:55–4:10 p.m.
This course uses mathematics, algorithms, and optimization to understand and improve democratic decision-making, from familiar institutions to novel ones. Topics will most likely include:
Technical tools include the axiomatic method, notions of fairness and proportionality, mathematical programming, and social welfare functions.
Syllabus: PDF (Cornell only)
Prerequisites: Basic probability and algorithms. Mathematical maturity is expected, including following proof sketches in class and writing proofs in homework.
Textbook: The Handbook of Computational Social Choice is the most useful single resource; it is freely downloadable from Cambridge University Press as a password-protected PDF (password: cam1CSC). Much of the course material is recent enough that it only appears in papers; references will be posted with each lecture's slides.
Subject to change. Slides will be posted as the semester progresses.
| # | Date | Topic | Slides |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon Aug 24 | Intro and voting with two alternatives | slides |
| 2 | Wed Aug 26 | The "impossibility" of social choice – Arrow's theorem | slides |
| 3 | Mon Aug 31 | Strategic manipulation | slides |
| 4 | Wed Sep 02 | Voting in one dimension | slides |
| Mon Sep 07 | 🛠️ Labor Day — no class | — | |
| 5 | Wed Sep 09 | Epistemic models for voting | slides |
| 6 | Mon Sep 14 | Epistemic models for voting (Part 2) | slides |
| 7 | Wed Sep 16 | Liquid democracy | slides |
| 8 | Mon Sep 21 | Ranking models beyond voting | slides |
| 9 | Wed Sep 23 | Prelim 1 practice session | slides |
| 10 | Mon Sep 28 | Prelim 1 | — |
| 11 | Wed Sep 30 | Approval voting | slides |
| 12 | Mon Oct 05 | Multi-winner elections | slides |
| 13 | Wed Oct 07 | Proportionality in multi-winner elections | slides |
| Mon Oct 12 | 🍂 Fall break — no class | — | |
| 14 | Wed Oct 14 | Core stability in multi-winner elections (slides on Canvas) | — |
| 15 | Mon Oct 19 | Participatory budgeting | slides |
| 16 | Wed Oct 21 | Utilities and welfare | slides |
| 17 | Mon Oct 26 | Implicit utilitarian voting | slides |
| 18 | Wed Oct 28 | Prelim 2 practice session | slides |
| 19 | Mon Nov 02 | Prelim 2 | — |
| 20 | Wed Nov 04 | Implicit utilitarian voting (Part 2) | slides |
| 21 | Mon Nov 09 | Distortion of ballot formats | slides |
| 22 | Wed Nov 11 | Apportionment in the 19th century | slides |
| 23 | Mon Nov 16 | TBA | — |
| 24 | Wed Nov 18 | TBA | — |
| 25 | Mon Nov 23 | TBA | — |
| Wed Nov 25 | 🥧 Thanksgiving break — no class | — | |
| 26 | Mon Nov 30 | TBA | — |
| 27 | Wed Dec 02 | TBA | — |
| 28 | Mon Dec 07 | TBA | — |
Subject to change. Full policies are on the syllabus (Canvas).
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Problem Sets | 20% |
| Prelim 1 | 20% |
| Prelim 2 | 20% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
| Participation | 10% |