Voters rarely get to choose the exact level of spending on a public good. Instead, they are provided with two options--a proposed spending level posed by the government and a default (or "reversion") level that would be enacted if the proposal were rejected by voters. The Leviathan theory suggests that governments will intentionally select large proposed spending levels and default levels that are well below the desired level of spending. Why is this behavior consistent with a size-maximizing government?

ENGR.ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
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Voters rarely get to choose the exact level of spending on a public good. Instead, they are provided with two options--a proposed spending level posed by the government and a default (or "reversion") level that would be enacted if the proposal were rejected by voters. The Leviathan theory suggests that governments will intentionally select large proposed spending levels and default levels that are well below the desired level of spending. Why is this behavior consistent with a size-maximizing government?
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The Leviathan theory is a political theory that was developed by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in the 17th century. The theory is based on the idea that in a state of nature, without a government to provide order and security, life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." To avoid this, individuals in a society agree to form a social contract with a government that has the power to enforce laws and maintain order.

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