How to overcome the chronically suboptimal performance of governing institutions.
The article sets out the conditions for innate legitimacy of delegation. If these conditions are fulfilled, delegation is legitimate even if the decision to delegate certain powers has not been made democratically and cannot be reversed by simple majority. Two proposals are made. The first proposal is to endow an independent state institution with the mandate to determine whether or not to delegate decision-making powers in cases where delegation is legitimate on its own terms. The second proposal aims at improving the quality of decision-making in policy areas that are not delegated.
Thomas Oechsle
Trained Economist
constitutional design constitutional economics delegation independent institutions political economy