@techreport{NBERw6556,
 title = "Subsidiarity and the European Union",
 author = "Robert P. Inman and Daniel L. Rubinfeld",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "6556",
 year = "1998",
 month = "May",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w6556",
 abstract = {The European Union is at a crossroads.  At issue will be each of the three decisions which define a federal constitution: the number of participating governments, the assignment of policy responsibilities to the new EMU, and the representation of local interests in, and the decision-making rules for, the Union. Subsidiarity is to be the guiding principle.  This essay reviews three alternative models of subsidiarity -- decentralized federalism, centralized federalism, and democratic federalism -- and argues the current European Economic Community has evolved from decentralized to centralized to a fully democratic federalist state.  The structure of EMU governance is in place and it closely resembles that of the United States: an institutionally weak executive, a country-specific Council of Ministers and a locally representative Parliament.  The remaining issues to be decided are the number of participating members and the assignment of policy responsibilities to levels of government.  A large Union with significant fiscal policy responsibilities is likely to replicate U.S. economic policy performance.},
}