NANSON,E.J., SOCIAL CHOICE AND ELECTORAL-REFORM

The most distinctive Australian contribution to institutional design i s the construction of electoral systems. This paper locates the work o f E. J. Nanson (1850-1936; Professor of Mathematics, University of Mel bourne, 1875-1922) in its intellectual context. After setting out the puzzle of the frequent discoveries and disappearances of axiomatic soc ial choice, and its awkward relationship with electoral reform, the pa per explores Nanson's arguments in both social choice and electoral re form. The first were good; the second disappointingly weak. Nanson's f ailure to influence Australian institutional design at the foundation of the Commonwealth and the subsequent adoption of Nanson's recommenda tions for Senate elections are analysed.