Federalism, Governance and Inequality: A Comparative Study in Europe and the Case of Germany

İrepoğlu Carreras, Yasemin (2015) Federalism, Governance and Inequality: A Comparative Study in Europe and the Case of Germany. [Conference Proceedings] (Submitted)

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Abstract

This paper looks at the implications for governance in interpersonal economic inequality in Europe. In doing so, it looks at the economic repercussions of territorial governance and intergovernmental relations stemming from this governance structure from different perspectives: Regional, national and EU-­‐level. First, by using cross-­‐sectional data, it tests whether countries with higher regional fiscal authority and more decentralized governance structures experience higher interpersonal income inequality. Then, it examines whether the co-­‐sharing of fiscal power between the center and the subnational actors is related to lower inequality levels. Using qualitative data gathered in fieldwork, the second section takes Germany as a case for understanding the importance of governance on redistributive matters and inequality. The case study shows that, despite increases in inequality, a general federal commitment to achieving a certain level of economic and services inequality persists in Germany through the delicate balance of centralized and decentralized elements of its federal governance structure.

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