Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) – The framers of the US Constitution enumerated specific powers for the federal government, leaving all else under the purview of states or the people. Over time, the federal government has expanded its role, yet the American people have more trust in the state and local governments that are closer to them—and where co-partisanship is often a matter of necessity. Scholars and practitioners in policymaking gathered at the Hoover Institution in September 2023 to discuss the ramifications of federalism for contemporary issues. A new volume, American Federalism Today: Perspectives on Political and Economic Governance, presents those conference proceedings.
Compiled and edited by Michael J. Boskin, Wohlford Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, the volume brings together renowned experts from a range of disciplines, including economics, political science, history, and law, to lay out the key priorities in evaluating and reinvigorating America’s federal system of governance.
The book discusses recent national crises where federalism came into play, such as the response to COVID-19 or unemployment caused by the 2008 financial crisis.
Among the topics chapter authors examine are infrastructure, education and healthcare financing, trust in government, and intergovernmental relations in an era of rising federal debt and unfunded state and local liabilities. Three influential governors—Mitch Daniels, Jeb Bush, and Jerry Brown—describe navigating the federalist system as they led their states through many challenges. This unique compilation draws on the remarkable expertise and experience of its contributors to probe federalism’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges in the nation’s political and economic governance.
“We’re at a governance moment: the loci of policy are moving to state and local governments. American Federalism Today is the book for the moment.”
—Robert P. Inman, professor emeritus of finance, economics, and public policy, University of Pennsylvania, and coauthor of Democratic Federalism: The Economics, Politics, and Law of Federal Governance
“American federalism has gone through many phases, so it cannot be understood from just one perspective. This is a volume that every scholar of federalism will want to read.”
—Barry R. Weingast, Ward C. Krebs Family Professor of political science, Stanford University
Editor
Michael J. Boskin is the Wohlford Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, the Tully M. Friedman Professor of Economics at Stanford University, and former chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
Foreword
Condoleezza Rice is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy. She is also the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She served as America’s sixty-sixth secretary of state from 2005 to 2009 and was the first Black woman to hold the office.
Contributors
Jay Bhattacharya, Valentin Bolotnyy, Michael J. Boskin, David Brady, Jerry Brown, Jeb Bush, Bruce E. Cain, Brandice Canes-Wrone, John F. Cogan, Mitch Daniels, Steven J. Davis, Dennis Epple, Morris P. Fiorina, Eric A. Hanushek, Michael T. Hartney, Jacob Jaffe, David M. Kennedy, Thad Kousser, Carlos X. Lastra-Anadón, Jillian Ludwig, Thomas MaCurdy, Michael W. McConnell, Thomas Nechyba, Paul E. Peterson, Joshua Rauh, Condoleezza Rice, Douglas Rivers, Jonathan Rodden, Daniel L. Rubinfeld, John B. Taylor, Alice Yiqian Wang
Click here to order American Federalism Today.
For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, jmarsch@stanford.edu.
