Federalist Government in Principle and Practice

by Racheter, Donald P.; Wagner, Richard E.

• ISBN13: 9780792379935
• ISBN10: 0792379934
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-10-01
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Pub

Summary

Federalism has generally been characterized as a system of government that is friendly to liberty. It is not obvious, though, why this should be so. Federalism is a form of government where citizens simultaneously reside in at least two governments, each of which has independent authority to tax and to regulate. By contrast, in a unitary form of government citizens face only one government with independent authority to tax and regulate. At first glance, it would seem a bit strange to claim that liberty is more secure when citizens are members of two governments with independent authority than when they are members of only one such government. The relationship between federalism and liberty turns out to be a complex one, and one that is capable of working in either direction. Whether federalism supports or erodes liberty depends on importantly on the institutional framework within which federalist governance takes place. The essays in Federalist Government in Principle and Practice examine this institutionalist theme from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	ix
List of Contributors	xi
Preface	xiii
Liberty, Markets, and Federalism	1	(18)
Thomas R. Dye
Competitive Federalism in Institutional Perspective	19	(20)
Richard E. Wagner
Taxes, Grants, and Porkbarrel Politics: The Case for Decentralizing the Power to Tax	39	(16)
Dwight R. Lee
Fiscal Competition in a Federal System	55	(42)
Bruce L. Benson
Immobile Taxation in a World of Mobility	97	(14)
Mason Gaffney
Fiscal Vacations and Federalism in Western Europe: A Search for Sovereignty	111	(22)
Keith M. Yanner
Federalism and Commercial Regulation	133	(42)
Adam D. Thierer
Redistribution in a Federal System: Lessons from Welfare Reform	175	(18)
John C. Weicher
Education: The Path from Centralization to Privatization	193	(18)
Eugenia F. Toma
Federalism and Agricultural and Resource Policy	211	(20)
B. Delworth Gardner
Federalism and the Protection of Property	231	(24)
Bruce Yandle
Legislation and Adjudication in a Federal Republic	255	(14)
Donald P. Racheter
Index	269