p11_lec04 - Federalism Federalism = sub-national regional...

Federalism
• Federalism = sub-national, regional governments exist and have some
political independence from national/central government
– Variation in degrees of federalism:
• Very important : US, Switzerland, Brazil
• Less important : South Africa
• No federalism = unitary state: El Salvador
– Federalism ≠ decentralized administration (e.g., China )
1

Federalism
Pros :
– “States’ rights”
– Government “closer” to the people
– Experimentation – states can learn from each other which policies
work better than others
Cons :
– Duplication of policymaking effort
– “ Moral hazard ” = someone insulated from risk may behave
differently from the way they would behave if it were fully exposed
to the risk
• If states think they will be bailed out by central governments
for bad finances, then they may be deliberately irresponsible

Federalism
• Where does it come from?
– “ Coming together ” : states create a national government, but
maintain some regional power
• Examples: Switzerland, US
– “ Holding together ” : national government cedes power to regional
governments to satisfy citizen demands
• Examples: South Africa, India
 Federalism more likely in large territories ( India, Canada, Brazil ) and
ethnically-diverse societies ( Switzerland, Belgium, Spain )
3

Federalism tends to coexist with:
• Judicial review by supreme or constitutional court. Resolves jurisdiction
battles between sub-national & federal governments.
• Bicameralism : 2
nd
(“upper”) chambers in congress (e.g., Senate)
– If a unitary system has a 2 nd chamber, it is usually weak, without Veto
Power – the power to reject proposed policy changes
– 2
nd
chambers often give regions equal representation in federal congress
• Where regions not equally populated  malapportionment
– Some regions are underrepresented in terms of population
while others are overrepresented , with disproportional influence
on policymaking
4

Brazil
• Sub-national governments (26 + Brasilia)
with wide-ranging powers
• Strong Senate in bicameral congress. Has
veto over legislation & sole authority for:
– Setting debt levels for all levels of
government, approving international
financing, impeaching officials, etc.
• Each state has three Senators, despite
large population differences
• Judicial review by Supreme Federal
Court
5

United Kingdom
• Virtually all power in lower chamber,
the House of Commons
• House of Lords can only delay
legislation, and only non-budgetary
legislation… no veto power
• Formerly unitary and without judicial
review….