infonet-economy

First the transmission of information in direct and representative democracies is investigated. Because there is more supply and demand of information, citizens are better informed in direct democracies than in purely representative systems. Then, a survey is given about empirical studies of the economic consequences of direct democracy which show that these consequences are mostly positive. Finally we discuss some of the arguments which are often raised in Germany against the introduction of direct democratic rights on the federal level, especially the reference to ‘bad experiences' in the Weimar republic. It is shown that these arguments are not valid.