Institutional factors in the form of direct democracy (via initiatives and referenda) and federal structure (local autonomy) systematically and sizeably raise self-reported individual well-being in a cross-regional econometric analysis. This positive effect can be attributed to political...

When discussing constitutional design, economists concentrate on the propensity of individuals to free ride. Preventing opportunistic behavior by knaves has costs by crowding out civic virtue. Another view emphasizes active citizen participation in order to bolster civic virtue. A viable...