Polycentric Polity: Genuine vs. Spurious Federalism

Giuseppe Eusepi and Richard Wagner ()

Review of Law & Economics, 2010, vol. 6, issue 3, 329-345

Abstract: Federalism is commonly described in contradictory fashion as involving both competition and decentralization. These descriptions may appear similar on the surface, but they emanate from contradictory analytical orientations. Competition entails a polycentric arrangement of competitors where there is no locus of control over the arrangement. In contrast, decentralization is a monocentric arrangement that involves a locus of control. To treat federalism as a method for decentralizing governments leads to a spurious form of federalism because the object that has been identified is not genuinely a competitively organized system of government. Genuine federalism requires a polycentric arrangement that is organized through openly competitive processes. In contrast, the spurious form of federalism allows hierarchy to trump open competition.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.2202/1555-5879.1534

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