Abstract: | James Buchanan is a Nobel Prize winning economist and the founderof the public choice movement in economics. Public Choice playeda critical role in underpinning conservative attacks on thewelfare state in the 1980s and 1990s in the United States. Asa committed supporter of free markets and strong skeptic oflarge governments, Buchanan has long supported the use of federalismto protect individual liberty, promote democratic efficiency,and help foster community values. This article reviews Buchanan'sresearch on the advantages of a federal system. |