Beyond Decentralization--The Comparative Study of Interdependence in Federal Systems

The degree of decentralization is an important explanatory variable in comparative federalism research. Nonetheless, the relationship between decentralization and the interdependence between governments is underspecified. This article distinguishes decentralization and interdependence conceptually, specifies institutional components of interdependence, and develops jurisdictional measures to capture them. A comparative analysis of eleven federal systems shows that decentralization indicators and indicators of interdependence constitute separate dimensions. Thus, their combined usage allows comparativists to do greater justice to the multidimensionality of federal systems. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.