Conclusion: What Have We Learned?

Abstract

Federal political systems come in a variety of forms. In some, regional governments exercise considerable policy-making, taxation and administrative power. Other systems have a mixture of local units—some having limited policy-making and administrative powers, others having fairly extensive policy-making and administrative authority. Still other federal states have developed in ways that allow territorial diversity within fairly strong structures, principles and floors that are devised by the central government to ensure a unity of services across different regional governing units. For members of the European Union these levels of governance are overlaid by a further level of governance, expressed though directives, regulations, and benchmarking exercises developed in Brussels. It is this multi-layered environment that creates both opportunities and issues when it comes to policy learning and policy transfer—not least, what is the difference between the two concepts. This article will attempt to highlight the problems that emerge as a result of this diversity in federal systems, offering possible ways forward.