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Rewriting The Constitution: An Economic Analysis Of The Constitutional Amendment Process, Donald J. Boudreaux, A. C. Pritchard
Rewriting The Constitution: An Economic Analysis Of The Constitutional Amendment Process, Donald J. Boudreaux, A. C. Pritchard
Fordham Law Review
In this Article, the authors develop an economic theory of the constitutional amendment process under Article V, focusing particularly on the roles that Congress and interest groups play in that process. The authors construct a model to predict when an interest group will seek an amendment rather than a statute to further its interests, highlighting how interest group maintenance costs and anticipated opposition affect that choice. They then discuss the efficiency goals of constitutionalism—precommitment and reduction of agency costs—and argue that the structure of the amendment process under Article V prevents realization of these goals. The authors contrast the Bill …