Federalism and institutions: a comparative perspective

Abstract

This article first discusses the Brazilian federalist structure problems pointing to the consequences in terms of transactions costs to economic performance. Then it makes a comparative analysis using the cases of Germany and USA as models of federalism arrangements that have been successfully adopted by highly industrialized countries despite being two completely different federalism models. The case of Germany will be discussed in more detail because it is less known to the Brazilian readers. Finally we argue that German federalism stands as a model that could inspire the Brazilian changes.