This article presents the conclusions of the project Why Centralization and Decentralization in Federations?, which analyzed dynamic decentralization in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Switzerland, and the United States over their entire life span. It highlights six main conclusions. First,...

This article develops a conceptual, methodological, and theoretical framework for analyzing dynamic decentralization in federations. It first reviews the literature and outlines the research design and methods adopted. It then conceptualizes static decentralization and describes the seven-point...

Against the backdrop of COP28, this paper investigates the impact of intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IGFT) on climate change commitments in India. Within the analytical framework of environmental federalism, we tested the evidence for the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) using a panel model...

This paper analyzes the process of reform of India's federal system, with a focus on fiscal federalism. We first summarize the basic features of, and recent reforms in intergovernmental relations, including the role of political institutions, assignments of expenditure responsibility and revenue...

We consider environmental policy in a federal system where states face purely domestic environmental problems. It is normally argued that in this context, environmental policy is best set at the state level, perhaps because of better local information. To provide a rationale for federal...

Germany's system of economic and political governance strongly relies on group decision-making and consensus to solve economic issues. This approach relates to a wide spectrum of decisions, including the social partners with the trade unions and the employers' associations in wage formation, the...

Should the EU introduce an Optional European Contract Law Code and what should it look like? By applying economic theories of federalism and regulatory competition (legal federalism), it is shown why an Optional Code would be a very suitable legal instrument within a two-level European System of...

This paper examines whether the federal structure of aid-receiving countries matters in explaining aid effectiveness. Following the decentralization theorem, the devolution of powers should increase aid effectiveness, since local decision-makers are better informed about local needs. At the same...

The literature on trade liberalization and environment has not considered federal structures. This paper shows how the design of environmental policy in a federal system has implications for the effects of trade reform. Trade liberalization leads to a decline in pollution taxes regardless of...