Bundling (public choice)

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Bundling is a way to study how voters choose leaders. Instead of voting on every policy, voters pick a candidate or party for the legislature. Each candidate or party offers a bundle of positions, or policies. Because no bundle matches every voter perfectly, people prioritize issues and choose the bundle that fits best.

Bundling also shows up in ticketed elections, where a candidate runs with a running mate. The whole package—the top candidate plus the partner—votes together. In party-list proportional representation, especially closed lists, voters select an entire slate of candidates, making bundling even stronger because you can’t pick individuals from the party.

Robert Cooter notes that when voters’ demand for a party is inelastic, the party may nominate candidates more for loyalty than for broad popularity. This can give the party more power and reduce the leaders’ need to appeal to many voters.

Bundling in political economy is about policy packages, not about bundling Donor contributions in campaign finance. Some argue that bundling can lower the cost of political decisions, while others worry that indivisible policy packages can hide the true signals voters intend to send about specific issues.