Speakers will be drawn from current or former government officials as well as the academic community. Co-sponsored by the Program for the Study of Germany and Europe and the EU Center at Harvard. The European and Comparative Federalism explores the political economy of federalism and multi-tiered governance systems in Europe, North America, and beyond. This study group brings together the theoretical perspectives and empirical approaches of economics and political science to address key issues that arise in multi-tiered governance structures around the world. Examples include fiscal federalism, intergovernmental transfers, monetary policy, environmental federalism, intergovernmental competition for mobile capital, political parties, and elections.
Special attention is given to the design of federal institutions.
One of our most important goals is to draw lessons from the theoretical literature on federalism and the actual experiences in federal systems around the world that will help us understand the political economy of the nascent European federation. In Fall 2000, the study group is organizing a Workshop on European Fiscal Federalism in Comparative Perspective to be held in November. Co- sponsored by the Program for the Study of Germany and Europe and the European Union Center at Harvard.