Federalism and public policy

Federalism is key to understanding public policy in the U.S. and other federal countries. Federalism plays a role in national policy in several ways. First, states and local governmental participate in shaping national policy and especially in implementing it. States are not simply agents of the national government; they have a myriad number of ways to push back by ignoring federal law, stalling, going to court over the law, or simply refusing to act. Second, states and local governments enact their own policies and programs where they learn from each other and thus become laboratories of democracy. Comparative scholars have tested theories concerning federalism and economic development and redistribution, without consistent findings. Intensive political polarization has affected intergovernmental policy making, increasing the importance of ideology and party in state and local policy responses.