Discriminating decentralization - Federalism and the handling of asylum applications in Switzerland, 1988-1996

Federalism belongs to those institutions that usually attract more admirers than critics. This study investigates whether decentralized decision makin g in the asylum domain undermines the principle of equality in the handling of individual cases. The externalities that power delegation creates are e xamined, and a principal/agent framework is developed to show how state dis cretion in the implementation of a unifying federal measure arises. The mod el distinguishes between positive and negative discrimination in the accept ance of asylum applications. The empirical analysis of approximately 180,00 0 cases demonstrates that the probability of negative discrimination is par tly a function of the organizational principles that characterize the asylu m policies of the 26 Swiss states (cantons).