Foot Voting and Federalism

Abstract

This chapter explains how foot voting in a federal system enhances political freedom. Foot voting between various regional and local governments provides extensive opportunities for political choice, particularly for the poor and disadvantaged. Opportunities for foot voting can be augmented by decentralizing functions of government, and breaking down obstacles to mobility. The chapter also responds to claims that foot voting under federalism is likely to be ineffective because of moving costs, “races to the bottom,” discrimination against minority groups, and inequality. These problems are overstated, amenable to a variety of fixes, or some combination of both. Some issues are so large-scale that they can only be addressed by national governments, thereby making it difficult to effectively decentralize power over them. But such cases are unusual.