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Constitutions as constraints: A case study of three american constitutions

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  • Randall Holcombe

Abstract

The Original Constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation, was approved in 1781, but within a few years the Articles were replaced by the Constitution of the United States. Approximately seven decades late, the Confederate States of America wrote a constitution using the U.S. Constitution as a model. The three documents are used as a case study on constitutional rules as constraints on government. When compared to the Articles, the effect of adopting the Constitution was to relax constraints on the federal government. The Confederate Constitution added constraints to the U.S. Constitution, while retaining the same basic framework. Copyright George Mason University 1991

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  • Randall Holcombe, 1991. "Constitutions as constraints: A case study of three american constitutions," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 303-328, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:2:y:1991:i:3:p:303-328
    DOI: 10.1007/BF02393134
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    1. McGuire, Robert A & Ohsfeldt, Robert L, 1989. "Self-interest, Agency Theory, and Political Voting Behavior: The Ratification of the United States Constitution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 219-234, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ludwig Van den Hauwe, 2005. "Constitutional Economics II," Chapters, in: Jürgen G. Backhaus (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Law and Economics, Second Edition, chapter 13, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Russell S. Sobel, 1997. "Optimal Taxation in a Federal System of Governments," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(2), pages 468-485, October.
    3. JEAN-MICHEL Josselin & ALAIN Marciano, 1997. "The Paradox of Leviathan: How to Develop and Contain the Future European State?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 5-22, January.
    4. Paniagua, Victoria & Vogler, Jan P., 2022. "Economic elites and the constitutional design of sharing political power," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110926, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Jean-Michel Josselin & Alain Marciano, 2007. "How the court made a federation of the EU," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 59-75, March.
    6. Russell Sobel & George Crowley, 2014. "Do intergovernmental grants create ratchets in state and local taxes?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 167-187, January.
    7. George Crowley, 2012. "Spatial dependence in constitutional constraints: the case of US states," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 134-165, June.
    8. Ben Baack & Robert A. McGuire & T. Norman Van Cott, 2009. "Constitutional Agreement during the Drafting of the Constitution: A New Interpretation," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(2), pages 533-567, June.
    9. Randall Holcombe, 1996. "Vibert's vision: Constitutional theory in search of a constitution," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 281-291, December.
    10. Russell Sobel, 1994. "The League of Nations covenant and the United Nations charter: An analysis of two international constitutions," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 173-192, March.
    11. Jean-Michel Josselin & Alain Marciano, 2000. "Displacing your Principal. Two Historical Case Studies of Some Interest for the Constitutional Future of Europe," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 217-233, November.
    12. Pietro Navarra & Giuseppe Sobbrio, 2001. "Election Re-Running and the Nature of Constitutional Choices: The Case of Italian Electoral Reform," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 31-50, March.
    13. Dennis Mueller, 1996. "Constitutional quandaries in Europe," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 293-302, December.
    14. Peter Moser, 1994. "Constitutional protection of economic rights: The Swiss and U.S. experience in comparison," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 61-79, December.
    15. Victoria Paniagua & Jan P. Vogler, 2022. "Economic elites and the constitutional design of sharing political power," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 25-52, March.
    16. Randall G. Holcombe, 2015. "Unanimous consent and constitutional economics," Chapters, in: Jac C. Heckelman & Nicholas R. Miller (ed.), Handbook of Social Choice and Voting, chapter 3, pages 35-53, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Buch, Claudia M. & Hiemenz, Ulrich & Koop, Michael J. & Laaser, Claus-Friedrich & Lücke, Matthias & Schrader, Klaus & Flassbeck, Heiner & Schrooten, Mechthild & Svindland, Eirik & Weißenburger, Ulrich, 1993. "Die wirtschaftliche Lage Rußlands: Systemtransformation auf dem Rückzug? Zweiter Bericht," Kiel Discussion Papers 208/209, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

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