Managing International Interdependence: Polycentric, Competitive, and Hierarchical Federalism
摘要
This paper dwelves on the debates in the USA about economic theorizing and policymaking advisory concerning a multi-layered system of governments. Beyond apparent similarities, it highlights the ontological divides between Ostrom-Tiebout-Warren on polycentric governance and Buchanan on competitive federalism on the one side, and Musgrave’s and Olson’s fiscal federalism. It further underlines how such divides—concerning the relative role of individuals, markets, collective authorities, and social order—echoed similar debates in Europe related to a multi-layered economic system, again depending mostly on different ontological assumptions.