Storable votes are a simple voting scheme that allows the minority to win occasionally, while treating every voter equally. Because the minority wins only when it cares strongly about a decision while the majority does not, minority victories occur without large costs and indeed typically with gains for the community as a whole.
The idea is simple: consider a group of voters faced with a series of proposals, each of which can either pass or fail. Decisions are taken according to the majority of votes cast, but each voter is endowed with a total budget of votes to spend freely over the multiple decisions. Because voters will choose to cast more votes on decisions that matter to them most, they reveal the intensity of their preferences, and increase their probability of winning exactly when it matters to them most. Thus storable votes elicit and reward voters' intensity of preferences without the need for any external knowledge of voters' preferences. By treating everyone equally and ruling out interpersonal vote trades, they are in line with common ethical priors and are robust to criticisms, both normative and positive, that affect vote markets. The book complements the theoretical discussion with several experiments, showing that the promise of the idea is borne out by the data: the outcomes of the experiments and the payoffs realized match very closely the predictions of the theory. Because the intuition behind the voting scheme is so simple: "vote more when you care more," the results are robust across different scenarios, even when more subtle strategic effects are not identified by the subjects, suggesting that the voting scheme may have real potential for practical applications.
Alessandra Casella has used the tools of economics to develop this idea both theoretically and experimentally in major economics journals, but this is the first book-length treatment of the subject.

With a focus on the 1980 Hague Convention, this cutting-edge Research Handbook provides a holistic overview of the law on international child abduction from prevention, through voluntary agreements and Convention proceedings, to post-return and aftercare issues. Analysing the repercussions of abduction from the perspectives of both abducted children and the therapeutic professionals engaged in their cases, chapters assess the contributions of the many professionals and key agencies involved in the field. Identifying the 1980 Hague Convention as the principal global instrument for dealing with child abduction, the Research Handbook traces its role, history, development and impact, alongside the mechanisms required for its effective use. Evaluating current trends, areas of concern in legal practice and various regional initiatives, it considers alternatives to high-conflict court proceedings in international child abduction cases. The Convention’s strengths, successes, weaknesses and gaps are discussed, and the Research Handbook concludes by addressing the need to tackle the challenges in its future operation. Interdisciplinary and accessible in approach, the contributions from renowned subject specialists will prove useful to students and scholars of human rights and family law, international law and the intersections between law and gender studies, politics and sociology. Its combination of research, policy and practice will be of use to legal practitioners working in family law alongside NGOs and central authorities working in the field.

Discussing the fundamental role played by the principles of equality and non-discrimination in the EU legal order, this insightful book explores the positive and negative elements that have contributed to the consolidation of the process of EU legal integration. Providing an in-depth analysis of the three key dimensions of equality in the EU -- equality as a value, equality as a principle and equality as a right -- this incisive book investigates the place and scope of equality within the founding values of the EU. It does this by examining the use of the principle of equality in the case-law of the Court of Justice, as well as the rights conferred on individuals via equality in secondary legislation, and the interaction between equality in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and as a general principle of EU law. Presenting an up-to-date analysis of the role played by equality in blending the economic and social elements of EU legal integration, Equality and Non-Discrimination in the EU will be an important read for scholars and students of EU and constitutional law, as well as practitioners and EU officials.