The recently enacted reform of German federalism is supposed to make legislation "faster, more efficient and better." To what extent are these expectations justified? In order to assess the likely effects of the reform, this study uses a research design that was recently applied by the Research...

The unique institutions that make up Germany's "unitary federal state," long considered part of the country's post-war success story, are now generally perceived as a "joint-decision trap" impeding effective policy responses to new economic and demographic challenges at both levels of...

In der Entwicklung des deutschen Bundesstaates lassen sich drei Phasen unterscheiden: Die anfänglich ungebremste Unitarisierung der Gesetzgebung und Zentralisierung der Finanzbeziehungen wurde seit Mitte der sechziger Jahre korrigiert durch die Institutionalisierung eines "kooperativen...