Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T17:44:25.346Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

State capture from below? The contradictory effects of decentralisation on public spending

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2015

Sean Mueller ,
Adrian Vatter  and
Tobias Arnold
Sean Mueller
Affiliation:
Institute of Political Science, University of Berne, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected]
Adrian Vatter
Affiliation:
Institute of Political Science, University of Berne, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected]
Tobias Arnold
Affiliation:
Institute of Political Science, University of Berne, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study analyses the contradictory effects of decentralisation on public spending. We distinguish three dimensions of decentralisation and analyse their joint and separate effects on public spending in the Swiss cantons over 20 years. We find that overall decentralisation has a strong, significant and negative effect on the size of the public sector, thus confirming the Leviathan hypothesis. The same holds for fiscal and institutional decentralisation. However, the extent to which political processes and actors are organised locally rather than centrally actually increases central and decreases local spending. This suggests that actors behave strategically when dealing with the centre by offloading the more costly policies. The wider implication of our study is that the balance between self-rule and shared rule has implications also for the size of the overall political system.

Keywords

cantonsdecentralisationgovernment sizeLeviathanSwitzerland
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 37 , Issue 4 , December 2017 , pp. 363 - 400
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press, 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alesina, A. and Spolaore, E. (2003) The Size of Nations. Cambridge: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
APS (2009) Ann ée Politique Suisse [Swiss Political Yearbook], http://www.anneepolitique.ch (accessed 31 January 2015).Google Scholar
BADAC (2012) Banque de données des cantons et des villes Suisses [Database of Swiss Cantons and Cities], http://www.badac.ch (accessed 31 January 2015).Google Scholar
BAK Basel (2012) Sparpaket II des Kantons St. Gallen. Dauerhafte Stabilisierung des Staatshaushaltes. Basel: BAK Basel.Google Scholar
Baskaran, T. (2012) Tax Decentralization and Public Deficits in OECD Countries. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 42(4): 688–707.Google Scholar
Baskaran, T. (2013) Coalition Governments, Cabinet Size, and the Common Pool Problem: Evidence from the German States. European Journal of Political Economy 32: 356–376.Google Scholar
Besley, T. and Case, A. (1995) Incumbent Behavior: Vote-Seeking, Tax-Setting, and Yardstick Competition. American Economic Review 85(1): 25–45.Google Scholar
Bundesamt für Statistik [Federal Office for Statistics] (BFS) (2015) http://www.statistik.admin.ch (accessed 31 January 2015).Google Scholar
Biela, J., Hennl, A. and Kaiser, A. (2013) Policymaking in Multilevel Systems – Federalism, Decentralisation, and Performance in the OECD Countries. Colchester: ECPR Press.Google Scholar
Bird, R. M. and Tassonyi, A. (2003) Constraining Subnational Fiscal Behavior in Canada: Different Approaches, Similar Results? In Rodden J. A., Eskeland G. S. and Litvack J. (eds.), Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 85–132.Google Scholar
Braun, D. (2000a) Territorial Division of Power and Public Policy-Making: An Overview. In Braun D. (ed.), Public Policy and Federalism. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1–26.Google Scholar
Braun, D. (2000b) The Territorial Division of Power in Comparative Public Policy Research: An Assessment. In Braun D. (ed.), Public Policy and Federalism. Aldershot: Ashgate, 27–56.Google Scholar
Braun, D. (2003) Dezentraler und unitarischer Föderalismus. Die Schweiz und Deutschland im Vergleich. Swiss Political Science Review 9(1): 57–89.Google Scholar
Brennan, G. and Buchanan, J. M. (1980) The Power to Tax. Analytical Foundations of a Fiscal Constitution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Burret, H. T. and Feld, L. P. (2014) Vertical Effects of Fiscal Rules: The Swiss Experience. Center for Economic Studies & Ifo Institute, Munich. CESifo Working paper No. 5043.Google Scholar
Busch, A. (1995) Preisstabilitätspolitik. Opladen: Leske & Budrich.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Busemeyer, M. R. (2008) The Impact of Fiscal Decentralisation on Education and Other Types of Spending. Swiss Political Science Review 14(3): 451–481.Google Scholar
Callanan, M. and Tatham, M. (2014) Territorial Interest Representation in the European Union: Actors, Objectives and Strategies. Journal of European Public Policy 21(2): 188–210.Google Scholar
Castles, F. G. (1999) Decentralization and the Post-War Political Economy. European Journal of Political Research 36: 27–53.Google Scholar
Chatagny, F. (2013) Incentive Effects of Fiscal Rules on the Finance Minister’s Behaviour: Evidence from Revenue Projections in Swiss Cantons. KOF Swiss Economic Institute, Zurich. Working paper.Google Scholar
Chhibber, P. K. and Kollman, K. (2004) The Formation of National Party Systems: Federalism and Party Competition in Canada, Great Britain, India, and the United States. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Crepaz, M. M. L. (1996) Consensus Versus Majoritarian Democracy. Political Institutions and their Impact on Macroeconomic Performance and Industrial Disputes. Comparative Political Studies 29: 4–26.Google Scholar
Davis, N. J. and Robinson, R. V. (1999) Their Brothers’ Keepers? Orthodox Religionists, Modernists, and Economic Justice in Europe. American Journal of Sociology 104: 1631–1665.Google Scholar
Diaz-Cayeros, A. (2004) Do Federal Institutions Matter? Rules and Political Practices in Regional Resource Allocation in Mexico. In Gibson E. L. (ed.), Federalism and Democracy in Latin America. Baltimore, MD and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 297–322.Google Scholar
Ebel, R. D. and Yilmaz, S. (2002) On the Measurement and Impact of Fiscal Decentralization. World Bank, Economic Policy and Poverty Reduction Division, Washington, DC. Policy Research Working paper No. 2809.Google Scholar
Eichenberger, R. (1999) Mit direkter Demokratie zu besserer Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik: Theorie und Empirie. In von Arnim H. H. (ed.), Adäquate Institutionen: Voraussetzung für “gute” und bürgernahe Politik?. Berlin: Duncker & Humboldt, 259–288.Google Scholar
Elazar, D. J. (1987) Exploring Federalism. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press.Google Scholar
Feld, L. P. and Kirchgässner, G. (2000) Direct Democracy, Political Culture, and the Outcome of Economic Policy: A Report on the Swiss Experience. European Journal of Political Economy 16(2): 287–306.Google Scholar
Feld, L. P. and Kirchgässner, G. (2008) On the Effectiveness of Debt Brakes: The Swiss Experience. In Neck R. and Sturm J.-E. (eds.), Sustainability of Public Debt. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 223–255.Google Scholar
Fiechter, J. (2010) Politische Gemeinden und lokale Autonomie in der Schweiz. Eine Studie zur normativen Bedeutung und empirischen Erfassung der Gemeindeautonomie und ihrer Ausprägung im kantonalen und lokalen Vergleich. Cahiers de l’IDHEAP, No. 251. Lausanne, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Freitag, M. and Vatter, A. (2008) Decentralization and Fiscal Discipline in Sub-National Governments: Evidence from the Swiss Federal System. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 38(2): 272–294.Google Scholar
Freitag, M., Vatter, A. and Müller, C. (2003) Bremse oder Gaspedal? Eine empirische Untersuchung zur Wirkung der direkten Demokratie auf den Steuerstaat. Politische Vierteljahresschrift 44(3): 348–369.Google Scholar
Füglister, K. and Wasserfallen, F. (2014) Swiss Federalism in a Changing Environment. Comparative European Politics 12(4/5): 404–421.Google Scholar
Funk, P. and Gathmann, C. (2011) Does Direct Democracy Reduce the Size of Government? New Evidence from Historical Data, 1890–2000. The Economic Journal 121: 1252–1280.Google Scholar
Funk, P. and Gathmann, C. (2013) Voter Preferences, Direct Democracy and Government Spending. European Journal of Political Economy 32: 300–319.Google Scholar
Gelman, A. and Hill, J. (2007) Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Giacometti, Z. (1941) Das Staatsrecht der schweizerischen Kantone. Zurich: Polygraphischer Verlag AG.Google Scholar
Gibson, E. L. (2004) Federalism and Democracy: Theoretical Connections and Cautionary Insights. In Gibson E. L. (ed.), Federalism and Democracy in Latin America. Baltimore, MD and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1–28.Google Scholar
Gibson, E. L., Calvo, E. F. and Falleti, T. G. (2004) Reallocative Federalism: Legislative Overrepresentation and Public Spending in the Western Hemisphere. In Gibson E. L. (ed.), Federalism and Democracy in Latin America. Baltimore, MD and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 173–196.Google Scholar
Goertz, G. (2006) Social Science Concepts – A User’s Guide. Woodstock, NY: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Good, M., Hurst, S., Willener, R. and Sager, F. (2012) Die Ausgaben der Schweizer Kantone – eine Fuzzy Set QCA. Swiss Political Science Review 18(4): 452–476.Google Scholar
Greve, M. S. (2012) The Upside-Down Constitution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Gemeindeschreiberbefragung [Local Secretary Survey] (GSB) (1994, 2005 and 2009) http://www.andreasladner.ch/gemeindeforschung/fragebogen.htm (accessed 31 January 2015).Google Scholar
Hall, P. A. and Taylor, R. C. R. (1996) Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms. Political Studies 44(5): 936–957.Google Scholar
Hibbs, D. (1977) Political Parties and Macroeconomic Policy. The American Political Science Review 71(4): 1467–1487.Google Scholar
Hooghe, L., Marks, G. and Schakel, A. H. (2010) The Rise of Regional Authority: A Comparative Study of 42 Democracies (1950–2006). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Horber-Papazian, K. and Soguel, N. (1996) La répartition des taches cantons-communes ou le rendez-vous manqué des réformes. Swiss Political Science Review 2(2): 1–23.Google Scholar
Inman, R. E. (2003) Transfers and Bailouts: Enforcing Local Fiscal Discipline with Lessons from U.S. Federalism. In Rodden J. A., Eskeland G. S. and Litvack J. (eds.), Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 35–83.Google Scholar
Kashin, K. (2014) Package “panelAR”: Estimation of Linear AR(1) Panel Data Models with Cross-Sectional Heteroskedasticity and/or Correlation. Version of 27/2/2014, http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/panelAR/panelAR.pdf (accessed 10 May 2015).Google Scholar
Kellermann, K. (2007) Die öffentlichen Ausgaben der Kantone und ihrer Gemeinden im Quervergleich. Strukturberichterstattung 37. Berne: Seco.Google Scholar
King, G., Keohane, R. O. and Verba, S. (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Kirchgässner, G. (2000) Wirtschaftliche Auswirkungen der direkten Demokratie. Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik 1(2): 161–180.Google Scholar
Kirchgässner, G. (2010) Institutionelle Möglichkeiten zur Begrenzung der Staatsverschuldung in föderalen Staaten. Center for Research in Economics, Management and Arts, Basel. Working paper No. 2010-02.Google Scholar
Kriesi, H., Wernli, B., Sciarini, P. and Gianni, M. (1996) Le clivage linguistique: Problèmes de compréhension entre les communautés linguistiques en Suisse. Rapport pour la Chancellerie fédérale, l’Office fédéral de la statistique et l’Office fédéral de la culture. Berne: OFS.Google Scholar
Krogstrup, S. and Wälti, S. (2008) Do Fiscal Rules Cause Budgetary Outcomes? Public Choice 136: 128–138.Google Scholar
Ladner, A., Steiner, R., Horber-Papazian, K., Fiechter, J., Jacot-Descombes, C. and Kaiser, C. (2013) Gemeindemonitoring 2009/2010. KPM-Schriftenreihe 48 Bern: KPM-Verlag.Google Scholar
Lancaster, T. D. and Hicks, A. M. (2000) The Impact of Federalism and Neo-Corporatism on Economic Performance. In Wachdorfer U. (ed.), Federalism and Political Performance. London/New York, NY: Routledge, 228–242.Google Scholar
Lasswell, H. D. (1936) Politics: Who Gets What, When, How. Cleveland, OH/New York, NY: Whittlesey House.Google Scholar
Lijphart, A. (1971) Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method. American Political Science Review 65: 682–693.Google Scholar
Lijphart, A. (2012) Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2nd ed. Yale, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Linder, W. (2012) Schweizerische Demokratie. Institutionen – Prozesse – Perspektiven, 3 Aufl. Bern: Haupt.Google Scholar
Linder, W., Zürcher, R. and Bolliger, C. (2008) Gespaltene Schweiz – geeinte Schweiz. Gesellschaftliche Spaltung und Konkordanz bei den Volksabstimmungen seit 1874. Baden: hier+jetzt.Google Scholar
Loughlin, J. (2001) Introduction: The Transformation of the Democratic State in Western Europe. In Loughlin J. (ed.), Subnational Democracy in the European Union: Challenges and Opportunities. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1–33.Google Scholar
Lüchinger, S. and Schaltegger, C. A. (2013) Fiscal Rules, Budget Deficits and Budget Projections. International Tax and Public Finance 20(5): 785–807.Google Scholar
March, J. G. and Olsen, J. P. (1989) Rediscovering Institutions: The Organizational Basis of Politics . New York, NY: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Monogan, J. E. III (2013) The Politics of Immigrant Policy in the 50 US States, 2005–2011. Journal of Public Policy 33(1): 35–64.Google Scholar
Mueller, S. (2011) The Politics of Local Autonomy: Measuring Cantonal (De)Centralisation in Switzerland. Space and Polity 15(3): 213–239.Google Scholar
Mueller, S. (2014) Shared Rule in Federal Political Systems: Conceptual Lessons from Subnational Switzerland. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 44(1): 82–108.Google Scholar
Mueller, S.(2015) Theorising Decentralisation: Comparative Evidence from Sub-National Switzerland. Colchester/UK: ECPR Press.Google Scholar
Müller, C. (2004) The Swiss Debt Break – Lessons for EMU? Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), Zurich. Working paper.Google Scholar
Oates, W. E. (1972) Fiscal Federalism. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Oates, W. E. (1985) Searching for Leviathan: An Empirical Study. American Economic Review 75: 748–757.Google Scholar
Oates, W. E. (1999) An Essay on Fiscal Federalism. Journal of Economic Literature 37(3): 1120–1149.Google Scholar
Obinger, H. (1998) Politische Institutionen und Sozialpolitik in der Schweiz. Der Einfluss von Nebenregierungen auf Struktur und Entwicklungsdynamik des schweizerischen Sozialstaates . Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
O’Dwyer, C. and Ziblatt, D. (2006) Does Decentralisation Make Government More Efficient and Effective? Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 44(3): 326–343.Google Scholar
Page, E. C. (1991) Localism and Centralism in Europe: The Political and Legal Bases of Local Self-Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Peters, G. B. (2011) Institutional Theory in Political Science: The “New Institutionalism”. New York, NY: Continuum.Google Scholar
Riker, W. H. (1964) Federalism: Origins, Operation, Significance. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co.Google Scholar
Rodden, J. (2003a) Reviving Leviathan: Fiscal Federalism and the Growth of Government. International Organization 57: 695–729.Google Scholar
Rodden, J. (2003b) Soft Budget Constraints and German Federalism. In Rodden J. A., Eskeland G. S. and Litvack J. (eds.), Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 161–186.Google Scholar
Rodden, J. (2004) Comparative Federalism and Decentralization: On Meaning and Measurement. Comparative Politics 36(4): 481–500.Google Scholar
Rodden, J. (2006) Hamilton’s Paradox: The Promise and Peril of Fiscal Federalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rodden, J. A., Eskeland, G. S. and Litvack, J. (2003) Introduction and Overview. In Rodden J. A., Eskeland G. S. and Litvack J. (eds.), Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 3–31.Google Scholar
Rothstein, B. (1996) Political Institutions: An Overview. In Goodin R. E. and Klingemann H.-D. (eds.), A New Handbook of Political Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 133–165.Google Scholar
Rühli, L. (2012) Gemeindeautonomie zwischen Illusion und Realität. Gemeindestrukturen und Gemeindestrukturpolitik der Kantone. Kantonsmonitoring 4. Zurich: Avenir Suisse.Google Scholar
Samuels, D. J. and Mainwaring, S. (2004) Strong Federalism, Constraints on the Central Government, and Economic Reform in Brazil. In Gibson E. L. (ed.), Federalism and Democracy in Latin America. Baltimore, MD and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 85–130.Google Scholar
Samuelson, W. and Zeckhauser, R. (1988) Status Quo Bias in Decision Making. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 1(1): 7–59.Google Scholar
Schaltegger, C. A. (2001) Ist der Schweizer Föderalismus zu kleinräumig? Swiss Political Science Review 7(1): 1–18.Google Scholar
Schaltegger, C. A. (2002) Budgetregeln und ihre Wirkung auf die öffentlichen Haushalte: Evidenz aus den US-Bundesstaaten und den Schweizer Kantonen. Schmollers Jahrbuch 122(3): 369–413.Google Scholar
Schaltegger, C. A. and Feld, L. P. (2003) Die Zentralisierung der Staatstätigkeit in einer Referendumsdemokratie: Evidenz aus der Schweiz. Politische Vierteljahresschrift 44(3): 370–394.Google Scholar
Schaltegger, C. A. and Gorgas, C. (2011) The Evolution of Top Incomes in Switzerland Over the 20th Century. Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, Basel. Working paper No. 2011-06.Google Scholar
Schaub, H.-P. and Dlabac, O. (2012) Datensatz Demokratiequalität in den Schweizer Kantonen, 1979–2009. Bern: Institut für Politikwissenschaft.Google Scholar
Schmidt, M. G. (1993) Theorien in der international vergleichenden Staatstätigkeitsforschung. In Héritier A. (ed.), Policy-Analyse. Kritik und Neuorientierung. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 371–393.Google Scholar
Schmidt, M. G. (1996) When Parties Matter: A Review of the Possibilities and of Partisan Influence on Public Policy. European Journal of Political Research 30: 155–183.Google Scholar
Schmidt, M. G. (1998) Sozialpolitik in Deutschland. Historische Entwicklung und internationaler Vergleich, 2nd ed. Opladen: Leske+Budrich.Google Scholar
Schmidt, M. G. (2000) Die sozialpolitischen Nachzüglerstaaten und die Theorien der vergleichenden Staatstätigkeitsforschung. In Obinger H. and Wagschal U. (eds.), Der gezügelte Wohlfahrtsstaat. Sozialpolitik in reichen Industrienationen. Frankfurt/New York, NY: Campus Verlag, 22–36.Google Scholar
Schneider, A. (2006) Who Gets What from Whom? The Impact of Decentralisation on Tax Capacity and Social Spending. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 44(3): 344–369.Google Scholar
Schniewind, A., Freitag, M. and Vatter, A. (2009) Big Cabinets, Big Governments? Grand Coalitions and Public Policy in the German Laender. Journal of Public Policy 29(3): 327–345.Google Scholar
Simeon, R. (1972) Federal-Provincial Diplomacy: The Making of Recent Policy in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Snyder, R. (2001) Scaling Down: The Subnational Comparative Method. Studies in Comparative International Development 36(1): 93–110.Google Scholar
Stadelmann-Steffen, I. and Bühlmann, M. (2008) Space and Time in Comparative Political Research. Pooled Time-Series Cross-Section Analysis and Multilevel Designs Compared. Methoden – Daten – Analysen 2(1): 29–57.Google Scholar
Stadler, P. (1996) Der Kulturkampf in der Schweiz. Eidgenossenschaft und katholische Kirche im europäischen Umkreis 1848–1888. Zürich: Chronos.Google Scholar
Stalder, K. and Röhrs, S. (2005) Answers to OECD Questionnaire: Fiscal Rules for Cantons and Communes. HSG, Institut für Finanzwissenschaft, St. Gallen.Google Scholar
Stepan, A. (2004) Electorally Generated Veto Player in Unitary and Federal Systems. In Gibson E. L. (ed.), Federalism and Democracy in Latin America. Baltimore, MD and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 323–361.Google Scholar
Stutzer, A. (1999) Demokratieindizes für die Kantone der Schweiz. Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, Zurich. Working paper.Google Scholar
Tarrow, S. (1977) Between Center and Periphery: Grassroots Politicians in Italy and France. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Tiebout, C. M. (1956) A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures. Journal of Political Economy 64(5): 416–424.Google Scholar
Treisman, D. (2002) Defining and Measuring Decentralization: A Global Perspective (Unpublished paper), http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/treisman/Papers/defin.pdf (accessed 31 January 2015).Google Scholar
Treisman, D. (2007) The Architecture of Government: Rethinking Political Decentralization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tsebelis, G. (2000) Veto Players and Institutional Analysis. Governance 3(4): 441–474.Google Scholar
Vatter, A. (2002) Kantonale Demokratien im Vergleich: Entstehungsgründe, Interaktionen und Wirkungen politischer Institutionen in den Schweizer Kantonen. Opladen: Leske+Budrich.Google Scholar
Vatter, A. (2014) Das politische System der Schweiz. Baden-Baden: Nomos.Google Scholar
Vatter, A. and Freitag, M. (2002) Die Janusköpfigkeit von Verhandlungsdemokratien. Zur Wirkung von Konkordanz, direkter Demokratie und dezentralen Entscheidungsstrukturen auf den öffentlichen Sektor der Schweizer Kantone. Swiss Political Science Review 8(3): 53–80.Google Scholar
Vatter, A. and Freitag, M. (2007) The Contradictory Effects of Consensus Democracy on the Size of Government: Evidence from the Swiss Cantons. British Journal of Political Science 37: 359–367.Google Scholar
Vatter, A. and Rüefli, C. (2003) Do Political Factors Matter for Health Care Expenditure? A Comparative Study of Swiss Cantons. Journal of Public Policy 23(3): 301–323.Google Scholar
Verner, J. G. (1979) Socioeconomic Environment, Political System, and Educational Policy Outcomes. Comparative Politics 11: 165–187.Google Scholar
Von der Weid, N., Bernhard, R. and Jeanneret, F. (2002) Bausteine zum Brückenschlag zwischen Deutsch- und Welschschweiz. Biel: Editions Libertas.Google Scholar
Wagner, A. (1958) [1883] The Nature of the Fiscal Economy. In Musgrave R. A. and Peacock A. R. (eds.), Classics in the Theory of Public Finance. London: Macmillan, 1–8.Google Scholar
Wagschal, U. (1997) Direct Democracy and Public Policymaking. Journal of Public Policy 17(3): 223–245.Google Scholar
Wagschal, U. (2005) Steuerpolitik und Steuerreform im internationalen Vergleich: Eine Analyse der Ursachen und Blockaden. Münster. LIT Verlag.Google Scholar
Wagschal, U. and Obinger, H. (2000) Der Einfluss der Direktdemokratie auf die Sozialpolitik. Politische Vierteljahresschrift 41(3): 466–497.Google Scholar
Wallis, J. J. and Oates, W. E. (1988) Decentralization in the Public Sector: An Empirical Study of State and Local Government. In Rosen H. S. (ed.), Fiscal Federalism: Quantitative Studies. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 5–32.Google Scholar
Wälti, S. and Bullinger, A.-B. (2000) Regional Policy and Energy Policy in the Light of Swiss Federalism. In Braun D. (ed.), Public Policy and Federalism. Aldershot: Ashgate, 78–107.Google Scholar
Wasserfallen, F. (2014) Contextual Variation in Interdependent Policy Making: The Case of Tax Competition. European Journal of Political Research 53: 822–839.Google Scholar
Watts, R. L. (2008) Comparing Federal Systems, 3rd ed. Montreal, Kingston, London, Ithaca, NY: McGill-Queen’s University Press.Google Scholar
Yerly, N. (2013) The Political Economy of Budget Rules in the Twenty-Six Swiss Cantons: Institutional Analysis, Preferences and Performances, PhD Dissertation, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Zubek, R. and Goetz, K. H. (2010) Performing to Type? Institutional Performance in New EU Member States. Journal of Public Policy 30(1): 1–22.Google Scholar
Zürcher, R. (2006) Konkordanz und Konfliktlinien in der Schweiz: Eine Überprüfung der Konkordanztheorie aufgrund qualitativer und quantitativer Analysen der eidgenössischen Volksabstimmungen von 1848 bis 1947. Bern: Haupt.Google Scholar