This book comprehensively examines the principles and practices of fiscal federalism based on the accepted theoretical framework and best practices.

Robin Boadway holds the David Chadwick Smith Chair in Economics at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada. Prior to that he was Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Economics at Queen's, where he has taught virtually all his career. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, and CESifo. Professor Boadway is a past President of the Canadian Economics Association and is Executive Vice-President of the International Institute for Public Finance (IIPF). He served as a Member of the Academic Panel in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF and is currently on the Academic Advisory Council of the IFO Institute in Munich. He has twice received the Harry Johnson Memorial Prize as well as the Queen's University Prize for Research Excellence. He has served as editor of the Canadian Journal of Economics and the German Economic Journal and is currently editor of the Journal of Public Economics. His books include Public Sector Economics, Welfare Economics, Canadian Tax Policy, Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in Canada, Equalization in a Federal State, and Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers, with Anwar Shah.

Part I. Design of Fiscal Constitutions: 1. Introduction to federalism and the role of governments in federal economies; 2. The decentralization of government authority; 3. Expenditure assignment; 4. Revenue assignment; 5. Natural resources ownership and management in a federal system; 6. Local governance in theory; 7. Local governance in practice; Part II. Revenue Sharing and Fiscal Transfers: 8. Revenue sharing; 9. The principles of intergovernmental transfers; 10. The practice of intergovernmental fiscal transfers; Part III. Finance and Provision of Public Services: 11. Finance and provision of health and education; 12. Finance and provision of infrastructure; 13. Poverty alleviation in federations; Part IV. Challenges and Responses: 14. Fiscal federalism and macroeconomic governance; 15. Inter-regional competition and policies for regional cohesion and convergence; 16. Decentralized governance and corruption; 17. Adapting to a changing world.