Award: Carl B. Allendoerfer

Year of Award: 1985

Publication Information: Mathematics Magazine, Vol. 57, (1984), pp. 259-274

Summary: A tour of parliamentary coalition models.

Link to Article

About the Authors: (from Mathematics Magazine, Vol. 57, (1984)) Philip D. Straffin, Jr. is Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Beloit College. He first became interested in the problems and challenges of mathematical modeling in social science through teaching in Beloit's interdisciplinary division. He has written a number of articles on game theory and mathematical political science and a UMAP monograph Topics in the Theory of Voting. Work on this article was done during a 1983 sabbatical term at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University .

Co-author Bernard Grofman is Professor of Political Science and Social Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine. He is a specialist in mathematical models of collective decision-making and the political consequences of electoral laws, with over two hundred published articles on topics such as jury verdict choice, reapportionment and voter turnout, and coalition formation models.