Andreas Ladner Cours de base automne 2012

1. Politique et institutions2.1 Le fédéralisme: théorie et pratique Andreas Ladner Cours de base automne 2012

2. Objectifs • Connaître différentes approches/conceptions du fédéralisme • Positionner et caractériser le fédéralisme en Suisse

3. Fédéralisme – esprit de cloche(r)s? Mix&Remix, L'Hebdo 16/02/06

6. Un petit problème à Zurich

7. L‘importance des différents niveaux administratifs sur la vie quotidienne Source: Size and Local Democracy: Pourcentages de réponses „grande influence“

8. www.federalism.ch / www.forumfed.org

9. Plan de la présentation • Origines, définitions et fonctions du fédéralisme • Fédéralisme dans le monde • Fédéralisme en Suisse • Institutions • Processus législatifs • Fédéralisme d'exécution

10. 1) Origines, définitions et fonctions du fédéralisme Remarque préliminaire • La signification du fédéralisme varie d'un contexte (pays, langue) à l'autre • fédération, confédération, Etat décentralisé, ...

11. Origines théoriques • Johannes Althusius (1557-1630) • Charles Louis de Montesquieu(1689-1755) • Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) • Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) • James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay: The Federalist Papers (85 articles, 1778-88) • et autres...

12. No. 51 In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government; and the usurpations are guarded against by a division of the government into distinct and separate departments. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.

13. Définitions possibles • Essai de définition (1) • "Le fédéralisme est une organisation politique dans laquelle les activités du gouvernement sont divisées entre les gouvernements régionaux et un gouvernement central, de sorte que chaque type de gouvernement décide sur ses activités" (Riker 1975: 101). • Essai de définition (2) • "Le fédéralisme implique une distribution fondamentale du pouvoir entre de multiples centres (…), pas la délégation de pouvoirs d'un centre unique (...)" (Elazar 1997: 239). •  idée fondamentale: division du pouvoir

14. Approches et conceptions du fédéralisme • Approche socio-philosophique: fédéralisme en tant que modèle d’organisation sociale et politique • Approche juridique: fédéralisme en tant que structure constitutionnelle et organisation de l’Etat • Approche politologique: fédéralisme en tant qu’institution et en tant que contexte de l’action • Approche économique: fédéralisme en tant que répartition (économiquement) optimale des compétences

15. exercice/discussion Avantages et inconvénients écono-miques de la décentralisation • Les avantages de la décentralisation? • Les avantages de la centralisation?

16. Point de vue économique:avantages d’un système décentralisé • Décision de la mise en place ou non d’une politique publique est prise dans les unités décentralisées -> préférences des citoyennes et citoyens sont mieux respectées. • Principe de l’équivalence fiscale mieux respecté. • Unités décentralisées sont en concurrence, produisent moins cher et sont plus novatrices. • Coûts de la planification et de la décision politique sont moindres car les préférences des citoyennes et des citoyens sont connues.

17. Point de vue économique:avantages d’un système centralisé • Certaines prestations ne peuvent pas être fournies au niveau des petites unités décentralisées (Unteilbarkeiten). • Moins d’effets de débordement (Spill overs) au niveau des grandes unités décentralisées. • Contraintes de coordination: moins (et donc plus grandes) d’unités décentralisés demandent moins de coûts de coordination et décision. • Economies d’échelle: prestations peuvent être fournies meilleur marché pour l’ensemble du territoire.

18. Plan de la présentation • Origines, définitions et fonctions du fédéralisme • Fédéralisme dans le monde • Fédéralisme en Suisse • Institutions • Processus législatifs • Fédéralisme d'exécution

19. Confederations or unitarist states Quelle: Stalder, Kurt (1999). Föderalismus und Finanzausgleich. Schriftenreihe der Fachgruppe für kantonale Finanzfragen. Solothurn: Verlag FkF.

20. Federalism and devolved governments • In confederal systems, the central government is a legal creation of the constituent units (see the two oldest countries US and CH). Important here is the autonomous constitutional existence. • In unitary systems, any regional governments are legal creations of the central institutions (devolution). Some unitary countries are more decentralized that some federations. • Unitary countries such as Colombia, Italy and Japan have relatively strong regional governments. France and Peru are moving towards significant devolution to elected regional governments. In some countries such as the UK there are some regions asking for devolution.

21. Federalist countries

22. Importance of Federalism • 40 per cent of the world’s population • almost all democracies with large areas and/or populations are federal • democratization brings along federalism (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico) • with Belgium, Ethiopia and Spain formerly unitary countries become federalist • Federalism has been adopted in post-conflict democracies (Bosnia, Democratic republic of Congo, Iraq, Sudan, South Africa) • The EU has a number of federal characteristics Anderson (2008:1ff)

23. About 25 states

24. Saint Kitts and Nevis

25. India

26. La Belgique

27. Kanada

28. Common characteristics • At least two orders of government, one for the whole country and one for the regions with different elections • A written constitution with some parts which cannot be amended by the federal government alone • A constitution that formally allocates legislative and fiscal powers to the two orders of government ensuring some genuine autonomy for each order • Usually some special arrangements in the upper houses for the representation of the constituents units giving to smaller units greater weight than they would merit • An umpire procedure to rule on constitutional disputes between governments • A set of processes and institutions for facilitating or conducting relations between governments Anderson, George (2008). Federalism: an Introduction. Forum of Federations, Ontario: Oxford University Press.

29. Names of the constituent units • States: Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, US • Provices: Argentina, Canada, Pakistan, South Africa • Länder: Austria, Germany • Cantons: Switzerland • Regions, communities: Belgium • Autonomous communities: Spain • Regions, republics, autonomous areas, territories, cities: Russia

30. Distinctive characteristics • Territorial structure, disparities in terms of population and economy • Division of tasks and services between the different levels • Income and spending of the different levels • Tax autonomy, tax system, formal and material harmonisation • Role of the federal units in the decision making process of national level • Financial disparities between the federal units and mechanism of equalization Stalder 1999: 3

31. The Constituent Units • From 2 (St. Kitts and Nevis, Bosnia-Herzegowina) to 50 (USA) or 86 (Russia) • The largest unit may be bigger than many countries (Uttar Pradesh in India: 160 million people, California: 34 million) • Some units may be very tiny: Nevis has only 12,000 people, AI has 15,000. • In some countries one or two units encompass the majority of the population (St. Kitts 75 %, Flanders 58 %, Punjab in Pakistan 56 %) • In other countries the largest unit constitute a small part of the population (California 12 %, Moscow 7 %, Zurich 17.3 %) Anderson (2008:14ff.)

32. Important distinction • Symmetric federalism • All federal units have the same tasks, competences and resources • Asymmetric federalism • There are differences between the federal units, especially as far as their autonomy is concerned

33. Exemples • Federations typically divide their territory into one main class of unit • Some federations have special territorial units with lesser constitutional status usually making them subject to the central government (the national capital district -> Washington DC; remote and thinly populated territories -> Canada; special tribal areas, overseas territories, Québec) Anderson (2008:16)

34. Congruent versus incongruent federalism • Congruent: The federal units are ethnically and culturally similar to the state as a whole. • Incongruent: The federal units differ from each other. Each unit is more homogeneous than the state as a whole.

35. Examples • Argentina, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, the United States have a clearly dominant language and relatively low levels of religious or ethnic diversity • In Switzerland, India, Canada, Ethiopia, Spain, Belgium or Russia the diversity is reflected in the composition of the constituent units. Anderson (2008:17f.)

36. Who Does What and How? Basically two different approaches: • Dualist Models: Different jurisdictions are assigned to each order of government, which then delivers and administers its own programs (Canada, Brazil, US). • Integrated Models: Many shared competences and the constituent-unit governments often administer centrally legislated programs or laws (Germany, Austria, South Africa, Spain). • India and Switzerland have strong features of both. Australia is dualist in administrative arrangements, but has many areas of concurrency. Anderson (2008:21 ff.)

37. Integrated Models (-> co-operative federalism) • For most subjects central government sets framework legislation that constituent units can complement with their own legislation. • In these areas the government of the constituent units delivers programs -> small civil service for central government • Challenge: Restricting the detail of central government policy making • Sometimes there is also joint decision making. Federal law must be approved by all constituent units (Germany)

38. Dualist Models • Each order of government delivers programs in the area of its responsibility using its civil service and departments, the federal government is thus present throughout the country. • In all dualist constitutions there are some shared or concurrent powers (very few in Canada and Belgium, many in Australia). Where powers are concurrent, federal power is usually but not always paramount.

39. Patterns of distribution of power in different policy area • Defence: always federal sometimes constituent units (CU) • Treaty ratification: almost always federal, sometimes CU • Major physical infrastructure: usually federal, sometimes concurrent, joint or shared or CU • Primary and secondary school: usually CU, occasionally concurrent, rarely federal • Post secondary education and research: no clear pattern • Pensions: either concurrent, joint, shared or federal • Health care: usually CU, sometimes concurrent, joint or shared • Police: usually shared, occasionally concurrent or joint, rarely federal or CUjoint = to orders make concurrent decisions; concurrent = both make laws in defined areas; shared = different legal powers, decisions are made independently

40. Residual Power • In bottom-up federations residual power is in the hands of the constituent units • In federations that emerged from previously unitary regimes, residual power is in the hands of the federal state

41. Relationship between the federal units • Competitive federalism • There is competition between the different federal units to the benefit of the citizens (exit, voting by feet) • Solidary federalism • Compensation of disadvantages among the federal units, equalization systems, co-operation.

42. Competition • Many economist argue that a federation should minimize the extent to which constituent units use tax competition to influence companies and individuals to locate in a particular area (limited control over mobile taxpayers). Danger: downward spiral of tax rates, loss of revenues, focus on other taxes. • Some economist favour fairly extensive tax competition because they believe it can promote better services (Anderson 2008: 31).

43. Different revenue and spending arrangements • In some countries, the central government dominates the levying and collection of revenues as well as the delivery of programs. • In other countries, the constituent units play a more important role in the collection of revenues and their expenditures are larger.

44. Central-government revenues relative to total government revenues

45. Central-government direct spending relative to total government spending

46. Public expenditures in Switzerland

47. http://www.economics.uni-linz.ac.at/Schneider/Kompendiumf.PDFhttp://www.economics.uni-linz.ac.at/Schneider/Kompendiumf.PDF

48. Transfers to constituent units • In all countries central government raises more revenue than it spends for its own needs. • Some transfers are unconditional, others are conditional (and for example promote the achievement of national purposes or standards).

49. Central transfer relative to constituent-unit spending

50. Tax system • Income tax and value added tax • Which shares go to the different tiers? • Who decides on the tax rate?