LAUSR

Abstract Traditionally, models of macro-political change, like those of macro-economics, have been based on extremely unrealistic assumptions about human cognition, ranging from fully informed and rational to completely random. Following from the work of Herbert Simon and contemporaries, a new tradition has developed based on more realistic ideas of human cognition. This paper lays out the need for such models in understanding endogenously produced disjointed change in public policies. It documents the commonality of such changes at the macro-level and points to the contributions of many recent works in developing realistic models of human cognition providing the basis of a new and more fruitful literature.