IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/copoec/v2y1991i3p303-328.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Constitutions as constraints: A case study of three american constitutions

Author

Listed:
  • Randall Holcombe

Abstract

The Original Constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation, was approved in 1781, but within a few years the Articles were replaced by the Constitution of the United States. Approximately seven decades late, the Confederate States of America wrote a constitution using the U.S. Constitution as a model. The three documents are used as a case study on constitutional rules as constraints on government. When compared to the Articles, the effect of adopting the Constitution was to relax constraints on the federal government. The Confederate Constitution added constraints to the U.S. Constitution, while retaining the same basic framework. Copyright George Mason University 1991

Suggested Citation

  • Randall Holcombe, 1991. "Constitutions as constraints: A case study of three american constitutions," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 303-328, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:2:y:1991:i:3:p:303-328
    DOI: 10.1007/BF02393134
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/BF02393134
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/BF02393134?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McGuire, Robert A & Ohsfeldt, Robert L, 1989. "Self-interest, Agency Theory, and Political Voting Behavior: The Ratification of the United States Constitution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 219-234, March.
    2. Charles M. Tiebout, 1956. "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64, pages 416-416.
    3. Brennan,Geoffrey & Buchanan,James M., 2006. "The Power to Tax," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521027922.
    4. Beard, Charles A., 1913. "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, edition 127, number beard1913.
    5. Weingast, Barry R & Shepsle, Kenneth A & Johnsen, Christopher, 1981. "The Political Economy of Benefits and Costs: A Neoclassical Approach to Distributive Politics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 642-664, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ludwig Van den Hauwe, 2005. "Constitutional Economics II," Chapters, in: Jürgen G. Backhaus (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Law and Economics, Second Edition, chapter 13, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Russell S. Sobel, 1997. "Optimal Taxation in a Federal System of Governments," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(2), pages 468-485, October.
    3. JEAN-MICHEL Josselin & ALAIN Marciano, 1997. "The Paradox of Leviathan: How to Develop and Contain the Future European State?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 5-22, January.
    4. Paniagua, Victoria & Vogler, Jan P., 2022. "Economic elites and the constitutional design of sharing political power," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110926, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Jean-Michel Josselin & Alain Marciano, 2007. "How the court made a federation of the EU," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 59-75, March.
    6. Russell Sobel & George Crowley, 2014. "Do intergovernmental grants create ratchets in state and local taxes?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 167-187, January.
    7. George Crowley, 2012. "Spatial dependence in constitutional constraints: the case of US states," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 134-165, June.
    8. Ben Baack & Robert A. McGuire & T. Norman Van Cott, 2009. "Constitutional Agreement during the Drafting of the Constitution: A New Interpretation," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(2), pages 533-567, June.
    9. Randall Holcombe, 1996. "Vibert's vision: Constitutional theory in search of a constitution," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 281-291, December.
    10. Russell Sobel, 1994. "The League of Nations covenant and the United Nations charter: An analysis of two international constitutions," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 173-192, March.
    11. Jean-Michel Josselin & Alain Marciano, 2000. "Displacing your Principal. Two Historical Case Studies of Some Interest for the Constitutional Future of Europe," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 217-233, November.
    12. Pietro Navarra & Giuseppe Sobbrio, 2001. "Election Re-Running and the Nature of Constitutional Choices: The Case of Italian Electoral Reform," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 31-50, March.
    13. Dennis Mueller, 1996. "Constitutional quandaries in Europe," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 293-302, December.
    14. Peter Moser, 1994. "Constitutional protection of economic rights: The Swiss and U.S. experience in comparison," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 61-79, December.
    15. Victoria Paniagua & Jan P. Vogler, 2022. "Economic elites and the constitutional design of sharing political power," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 25-52, March.
    16. Randall G. Holcombe, 2015. "Unanimous consent and constitutional economics," Chapters, in: Jac C. Heckelman & Nicholas R. Miller (ed.), Handbook of Social Choice and Voting, chapter 3, pages 35-53, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Buch, Claudia M. & Hiemenz, Ulrich & Koop, Michael J. & Laaser, Claus-Friedrich & Lücke, Matthias & Schrader, Klaus & Flassbeck, Heiner & Schrooten, Mechthild & Svindland, Eirik & Weißenburger, Ulrich, 1993. "Die wirtschaftliche Lage Rußlands: Systemtransformation auf dem Rückzug? Zweiter Bericht," Kiel Discussion Papers 208/209, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:elg:eechap:15325_26 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Melle Marco C., 2014. "Eine europäische Bemessungsgrundlage für die Körperschaftsteuer? Konzeption und ordnungsökonomische Analyse / Conceptual design and constitutional economics analysis of a European tax base for corpora," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 65(1), pages 133-156, January.
    3. Thushyanthan Baskaran, 2010. "On the link between fiscal decentralization and public debt in OECD countries," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 145(3), pages 351-378, December.
    4. Jia, Junxue & Liu, Yongzheng & Martinez-Vazquez, Jorge & Zhang, Kewei, 2021. "Vertical fiscal imbalance and local fiscal indiscipline: Empirical evidence from China," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. David Bartolini & Agnese Sacchi & Simone Salotti & Raffaella Santolini, 2018. "Fiscal Decentralization in Times of Financial Crises," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 64(3), pages 456-488.
    6. George R. Crowley, 2015. "Local Intergovernmental Competition and the Law of 1/n," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 81(3), pages 742-768, January.
    7. Luiz De Mello, 2001. "Fiscal federalism and government size in transition economies: the case of Moldova," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(2), pages 255-268.
    8. Holcombe, Randall G., 1998. "Tax Policy From a Public Choice Perspective," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 51(2), pages 359-371, June.
    9. Weingast, Barry R., 2009. "Second generation fiscal federalism: The implications of fiscal incentives," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 279-293, May.
    10. Fidel Perez-Sebastian & Ohad Raveh, 2016. "Federal Tax Policies, Congressional Voting, and the Fiscal Advantage of Natural Resources," OxCarre Working Papers 182, Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies, University of Oxford.
    11. Franz Sinabell & Hans Pitlik & Erwin Schmid, 2009. "Zukunft der Finanzierung und Ausgaben der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 36165, April.
    12. Gebhard Kirchgassner, 2002. "The effects of fiscal institutions on public finance: a survey of the empirical evidence," Chapters, in: Stanley L. Winer & Hirofumi Shibata (ed.), Political Economy and Public Finance, chapter 9, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Pitsoulis, Athanassios & Siebel, Jens Peter, 2009. "Zur politischen Ökonomie von Defiziten und Kapitalsteuerwettbewerb," Discourses in Social Market Economy 2009-13, OrdnungsPolitisches Portal (OPO).
    14. Krzysztof Beck & Michał Możdżeń, 2020. "Institutional Determinants of Budgetary Expenditures. A BMA-Based Re-Evaluation of Contemporary Theories for OECD Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-31, May.
    15. Thomas A. Husted & Lawrence W. Kenny, 2007. "Explanations for States Adopting Limits on Educational Spending," Public Finance Review, , vol. 35(5), pages 586-605, September.
    16. Sharma, Chanchal Kumar, 2010. "Beyond Gaps and Imbalances: Re-Structuring the Debate on Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations," MPRA Paper 32145, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Santiago Lago-Peñas & Agnese Sacchi & Pablo Simon-Cosano, 2014. "Who honor the rules of federalism? Party system nationalization and fiscal performance," Working Papers. Collection A: Public economics, governance and decentralization 1409, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.
    18. Kessing, Sebastian G. & Konrad, Kai A. & Kotsogiannis, Christos, 2006. "Federal tax autonomy and the limits of cooperation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 317-329, March.
    19. Dwight Lee, 1985. "Reverse revenue sharing: A modest proposal," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 279-289, January.
    20. Zodrow, George R, 2003. "Tax Competition and Tax Coordination in the European Union," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 651-671, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:2:y:1991:i:3:p:303-328. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.