The distribution of competencies between the different levels of a federal system may have remarkable effects on economic growth, because mainly the regions of a country contribute to national economic development. Thus, a government’s economic policy is reasonably shaped along regional lines....

In this paper, German federalism is analysed with respect to its implications for public spending and revenue. Since the Second World War, taxing and spending competencies in Germany have become more and more centralised. This is demonstrated with respect to (1) changes of the power to tax, (2)...

Recent empirical literature has shown that the determination of intergovernmental grants is highly influenced by the political bargaining power of the recipient states. In these models federal politicians are assumed to buy the support of state voters, state politicians and state interest groups...

Mit der rasant fortschreitenden Globalisierung und dem dynamischen Prozess der europä¬ischen Integration sind in den letzten zwei bis drei Jahrzehnten grundlegende traditionelle Denk¬kategorien über den Staat und die von ihm zu betreibende Wirtschaftspolitik systema¬tisch in Frage gestellt...

The fiscal commons problem is one of the most prominent explanations of excessive spending and indebtedness in political economics. The more fragmented a government, the higher its spending, deficits and debt. In this paper we investigate to what extent this problem can be mitigated by different...

In this paper, the introduction of direct-democratic decision-making in all EU decisions is considered when it is feasible without prohibitively increasing decision-making costs. We start with the contractarian argument that each constitution is a contract joining the citizens of a state and...

In diesem Beitrag werden die ökonomischen Argumente, die für und gegen Wettbewerbsföderalismus sprechen, zusammengefasst und mit der empirischen Evidenz aus stark wettbewerblich organisierten Föderalstaaten konfrontiert. Es zeigt sich, dass fiskalischer Wettbewerb zu einer effizienteren...

How a sustainable fiscal policy can be performed in a federal system is not only a Swiss problem but is also discussed in other federal countries like Germany and Austria, and in the European Union. Contrary to most other countries, the Swiss fiscal system is characterised by an extensive fiscal...

One of the most pertinent reform discussions in Germany is found in the debate on the local business tax. During the last year, two basic reform proposals, a ‚revitalisation‘ of the current local business tax and its replacement by a surcharge on personal and corporate income taxes,...

The advantages and disadvantages of fiscal federalism are widely discussed in economics and political science. While some authors argue that federalism favors individual initiatives and serves as a market preserving device, others emphasize the dangers arising from an increasing corruption and...