This innovative book proposes a new institutional arrangement for government to fulfil the needs of its citizens as well as possible. Existing aspects of federalism and direct democracy in Europe are strengthened, and as a result future developments arising in the region are coped with better. In this book Bruno Frey and Reiner Eichenberger propose a new model of federalism which includes new types of governmental units established by citizens from below. These units are called functional, overlapping and competing jurisdictions as they extend over task-specific areas and therefore overlap....

Proposes an arrangement for government to fulfil the needs of its citizens, such as a model of federalism which includes governmental units established by citizens. The authors suggest that this system should be allowed to develop in Europe to safeguard diversity and encourage decentralization.

Bringing together work from economists and political scientists, this volume offers empirical answers on how to achieve a good society, making it a highly relevant comparative study in political economy and welfare studies.