Public Policy and Diversity in Federations

Abstract

Federations are characterized by the tension between diversity on the one hand and uniformity on the other hand. This Panel deals with new methodological, theoretical and empirical developments in the study of the diversity. For this purpose, we first wish to address the measurement of diversity – which methods are suitable to systematically assess the degree or form of diversity among subnational units or federations? This relates to questions of composite index construction, aggregation, and validation. Second, the Panel touches on the drivers of diversity: Which shape the patterns of diversity of public policy? Do different ‘cultures’ of federalism influence the conceivable or empirically observed degree of diversity in federations? The Panel welcomes a wide range of Papers on the mentioned aspects of federal systems, from single-case studies to comparative case-studies, qualitative and quantitative approaches.