Federalism in Practice
Jamie Monogan
University of Georgia
September 2, 2015
Objectives
By the end of this meeting, participants
should be able to:
• Describe the reasons why the states
and the people have allowed the
federal government's power to grow
in the past century.
• Explain when it is beneficial to decide
policy at the state level.
A Puzzle
• The Constitution establishes a system
of shared power between states and
the federal government.
• Why have the states and the
American people allowed the federal
government’s power to grow in the
past century?
Federalism as Solution to
Collective Dilemmas
• Prisoner’s dilemma:
Prevent states/units
from going to war
with each other
• Collective action
problem: Protect states/units from outside
aggression
• Free rider problem: Set national standards
for labor and environmental laws
Federalism and Competition
• Competition and innovation across
states has mixed effects
• Experimentation in states can
produce evidence for new, effective
policies
• Competition for industry can reduce
tax base
– Race to the top/bottom
50
"Laboratories of Democracy"
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40
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20
Number of States With Lotteries
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1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Year
Louis Brandeis
State Lottery Adoption Over Time
Differing Preferences and
Coordinated Policy
• In many policy areas, coming to no
solution is problematic
• Different locales may have different
policy preferences or policy needs
• In some cases, devolution can
eliminate a national-level coordination
problem
What Shapes State Minimum Wage Laws?
Source: BloombergBusiness (http://bloom.bg/1G5avZT)
Revisiting the Puzzle
• Why has the power of national
government grown?
– Collective dilemmas among the states
– 16th Amendment: income tax
– 17th Amendment: direct election of senators
– National elections that focus on national
problems/solutions
– Vagueness of the Constitution has made it
difficult to check federal power
Assignments
• For Friday: Read Bullock &
Gaddie, Chapter 8
• Chapter 4 concept map exercise
due at 11:59pm next Wednesday.
–Login to ELC to complete.
• Also for Wednesday: Read
Kollman, pp. 101-117
Additional Material
Federal Influence on State Spending
• Grants-in-Aid
– General programs (e.g., infrastructure)
• Categorical Grants
– School lunches
• Revenue Sharing
– Interstate highways
• Block Grants
– 1995 welfare reform
• Contrast: Unfunded Mandates
– All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
Do People Get What They Want?
Opinion Liberalism v. Policy Liberalism
Future Day: Delegate v. Trustee Representation
6
CA
NY
MD DE
NM
2
WV
ME
WAIL
CO
SC
0
MO
IA
−2
NE
KS TX
IN
OK
MS
ND
SD
ID
AL
UT
TNAR
LA
NC
RI
NJ
NH
MI
OH
PA
WI
AZ
KY
VA
GA
−10
CT
OR
MT
−4
Public Policy Liberalism
4
MN
VT
MA
NV
WY
FL
0
10
Public Opinion Liberalism
20
Air Polluters in Georgia
33
32
31
Latitude
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35
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−85
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Longitude
−82
−81