Resumen de What Explains the Paradox of Tobacco Control Policy under Federalism in the U.S. and Canada?: Comparative Federalism Theory versus Multi-level Governance
Canada is generally recognized as having more decentralized federalism than the United States. Even though the content of tobacco control policy in the two countries has been similar, the United States has had a more decentralized process, with policy usually led by the state level, while Canada has had a centralized process, with most initiatives coming from the federal government. This article examines this anomaly, utilizing two different approaches to intergovernmental relations, Kelemen’s “comparative federalism” and Hooghe and Marks’ “multi-level governance” (MLG). Overall, MLG is a better explanation for tobacco control policy in both countries, especially in the U.S. Discretionary implementation from the central level in parliamentary systems, unitary or federal, may be more broadly applicable than the legalistic implementation of separation-of-powers systems.
