Der Föderalismus in Deutschland ist in den letzten Jahren zunehmend in den Brennpunkt politischer Auseinandersetzungen geraten. Bemängelt wird in der Diskussion vor allem eine zunehmende Verflechtung von Ausgabe- und Einnahmekompetenzen von Bund und Ländern sowie ein Finanzsystem, das den...

This paper develops a theoretical explanation why it may be optimal for higher-level governments to pay categorical block grants or closed-ended matching grants to local governments. We consider a federation with two types of local governments which differ in the cost of providing public goods....

Empirical evidence from the U.S. and the European Union suggests that regions which contribute to interregional redistribution face weaker borrowing constraints than regions which benefit from interregional redistribution. This paper presents an argument in favor of such differentiated budgetary...

Empirical evidence from the U.S. and the European Union suggests that regions which contribute to interregional redistribution face weaker borrowing constraints than regions which benefit from interregional redistribution. This paper presents an argument in favor of such differentiated budgetary...