Federalism Pros and Cons Lecture

Federalism: Pros and Cons Evaluating Federalism Policy Congruence - often used as a metric for democratic well-being (policies line up with preferences of voters) ● ● State policies are usually more extreme than the preferences of the citizens There is a strong correlation within most states between policy and voter preference ○ Covid regulations different in liberal vs. conservative states. ● Policy congruence happens ○ How? Parties are a great shortcut - you don’t have to be super informed ○ Local voters are informed ○ Foot voting Foot voting ● If an organization is failing, you can either use your voice to speak up and try to make the organization better (voting and lobbying), or you can leave the organization (moving/”foot voting”) ● Foot voting comes with costs ● Charles Tiebout (tee-bow), an economist who applied this idea to local government ○ Foot voting also called “Tiebout Sorting” ○ He believed public goods didn’t necessarily require a national solution. He was for competitive federalism, as it provides a mix of goods and services throughout different states ● Cities = businesses competing in a market, residents and taxpayers are customers ● Predicts an equilibrium where taxes and services are similar-ish, like different computer brands (all cities aren’t extremely different) ● Foot voting is exemplified well by the Mormon Pioneers ● Mobility has decreased but Americans will move 12 times in their lifetime ● Increased policy congruence, reduce corruption because people will leave the state/city if they don’t like it ● Advantages of foot voting/? ○ Pluralism means one faction can’t dominate ○ Laboratories of democracy ○ Check on government officials (you can leave) ○ States check on national government (US pandemic response) ■ How does the pandemic response illustrate a ○ Vertical and horizontal competition (vertical = levels, horizontal = branches) ● Disadvantages ○ Race to the bottom could cause more pollution ○ Unequal distribution of resources ○ ○ ○ ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Protection of civil rights (states stink at this) Coordination problems States face a collective action problem on some issues ■ Example: acid rain in the 1970’s; federal government stepped in to force all states to address acid rain. ○ Oak Park vs. Chicago shows that people don’t always have the option to vote with their feet ■ Historically, poor and oppressed groups DO vote with their feet anyway (“Great Migration” 1915-1960’s 33% of AA’s left the South, pioneers) ■ National policy doesn’t always mean things will change/improve (federal government might make bad laws) How does federalism address the principal-agent problem? How does it keep government from implementing policies citizens don’t want or from being corrupt? Was Brutus right about national gov vs states Reasons national gov has power has grown relative to states Policy congruence Foot voting Pros and cons of federalism and foot voting Checks and balances Collective dilemmas Principal agent problem