Irish migration: the search for the efficiency and equity basis of a European regional policy

Abstract

In the US and Canada a federal system of government is used, i.e., there exist a number of tiers of government with different functions assigned to each level. Government intervention in these countries, as in many other western democracies, is often justified by the existence of public goods. Some public goods, however, convey benefits that are local, i.e., limited to a subregion of the nation. It can be argued that the benefits and costs of a local public good are more likely to be registered correctly if the decision regarding its provision is taken by those residing in the region serviced by the good. This argument can in turn be used as a rationale for a federal or tiered system of government (Broadway and Wildasin, 1984, p. 498).