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Administrative Federalism and a Central Government with Regionally Based Preferences

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  • Robert Schwager

Abstract

Administrative federalism is defined as a constitution where the central state sets quality standards for public projects, and the local jurisdictions decide which projects are to be carried out. Decentralized decisions are inefficient because of an interjurisdictional spillover. A centralized decision is inefficient because the center favors one region and is restricted to distortionary instruments when redistributing between regions. For intermediate values of the spillover, it is shown that administrative federalism leads to a higher welfare than both centralization and decentralization. Moreover, because jurisdictions fear to be exploited, they only join a federation whose constitution is administrative federalism but not one with a fully centralized constitution. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1999

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  • Robert Schwager, 1999. "Administrative Federalism and a Central Government with Regionally Based Preferences," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 6(2), pages 165-189, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:6:y:1999:i:2:p:165-189
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1008799614576
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    Cited by:

    1. Borge, Lars-Erik & Brueckner, Jan K. & Rattsø, Jorn, 2014. "Partial fiscal decentralization and demand responsiveness of the local public sector: Theory and evidence from Norway," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 153-163.
    2. Lisa Grazzini & Alessandro Petretto, 2017. "Spillover Effects in a Federal Country with Vertical Tax Externalities," Public Finance Review, , vol. 45(5), pages 701-720, September.
    3. Kimiko Terai, 2008. "Interregional Disparities in Productivity and the Choice of Fiscal Regime," Working Papers 070813, University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics.
    4. Lars-Erik Borge & Jan K. Brueckner & Jorn Rattso, 2012. "Partial Fiscal Decentralization and Public-Sector Heterogeneity: Theory and Evidence from Norway," CESifo Working Paper Series 3954, CESifo.
    5. Kimiko Terai, 2009. "Interregional Disparities in Productivity and the Choice of Fiscal Regime," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 11(3), pages 383-409, June.
    6. Brueckner, Jan K., 2009. "Partial fiscal decentralization," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 23-32, January.
    7. Torsten Schmidt, 2003. "Institutionelle Bedingungen eines Wettbewerbsföderalismus in Deutschland: Transaktionskosten stärker berücksichtigen," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 72(3), pages 458-471.
    8. Schmidt, Torsten, 2001. "Finanzreformen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Analyse der Veränderungen der Finanzverfassung von 1949 bis 1989," RWI Schriften, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, volume 67, number 67.

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