Footnote:
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description:
By building on a recent research comparing the EU and US and drawing on Riker's influential theory of federalism, this book explores the origins of fiscal unions. It investigates early American history and traces its constitutional debates to argue that an internal threat - such as sovereign debt crisis leading to social unrest threatening the Union - triggers emergence of federal taxing powers - i.e. a federal fiscal union. It then contrasts the American experience of fiscal integration with the European one and subsequently concludes with the insights for the EU.