In Search of Rational Government: What Political Preference Function Studies Measure and Assume
深入剖析政治偏好函数（PPF）研究的假设和方法，指出PPF测量利益集团政治权力依赖于政策是帕累托有效的，且边际转换率可能无法揭示权力真实方向。
Abstract Political preference function (PPF) studies assume that policy‐making can be described by a mathematical problem in which a rational government maximizes a function of interest groups' welfares. The purpose of my paper is to explain in‐depth ramifications of PPF study assumptions and methodology. PPF studies that attempt to measure interest group political power do so by measuring marginal rates of transformation along a Pareto frontier. One can estimate political power with a PPF only if observed policies are Pareto‐efficient, which may depend on the assumed number of interest groups and policy instruments. Marginal rates of transformation need not reveal anything meaningful about interest group political power, and may incorrectly measure the direction of transfers.