Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Trade Politicians Like Stocks

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the it's-even-more-fun-than-playing-with-junk-bonds dept.

Thanks to Greyfox for giving us a story that confirms what I've always thought: politicians can be traded like stocks. Much like any normal stock market, now you can bid up your favorite politician - big tax break? Buy him up! Campaign corruption? Sell! If you are a South Korean, of course.

4 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. What's the big deal? by rde · · Score: 3

    You americans have buying your politicians for years.

  2. URLs: Join the trading! by Tackhead · · Score: 3
    I first heard of this when I heard of the one at the University of British Columbia: the FAQ and a Trader's Manual are available.

    There's also one being run at the University of Iowa College of Business), which has links for current political markets including the 2000 Congressional, 2000 DNC, 2000 RNC, and New York Senate races. Let the games begin!

    A little poking around reveals there are also a few markets open in Austrian politics.

    And finally, I think that the site referenced in the USA Today article is here: http://www.posdaq.co.kr, but since it's in Korean, I'm not totally sure about that :-)

  3. Staying brought by Paul+Johnson · · Score: 3
    Reminds me of the old saying: "An honest politician is one who stays brought".

    Does this make dishonest politicians difficult to sell?

    Paul.

    --
    You are lost in a twisty maze of little standards, all different.
  4. The Iowa version by hawk · · Score: 3

    The Iowa game is also (primarily?) an academic research project. Particularly, it is experimental economics, which works by getting people to make choices and reveal their preferences by using real money.

    When someone buys into the Iowa game, they get a share in each candidate for each dollar they put in. They can then buy and sell at any price, and can leave bids at multiple prices for automatic execution if anyone offers (e.g., I'll take 100 at 40c, 200 at 35c, and 1000 at 25c).

    After the election, every share is paid by the percentage of the vote: 35% becomes 35c, so exactly one dollar is paid in return.

    "surprisingly accurate" to describe the results predicted is an understatement. I don't think they've ever been off by more than 2%.

    During Perot's first run, someone bought in with $500 (rather than the typical $20), to support Perot. He sold everything else, then bought Perot, driving the price up. Right until the $500 ran out, at which point the price *immediately* dropped back to the pre-binge levels.

    hawk, wearing his Ph.D. economist hat for the moment