Professor Michael Ilg is presenting a paper entitled "Cyclical Federalism: A Keynesian Approach to Constitutional Interpretation" at the 2012 Annual Conference of the Canadian Law and Economics Association being held in Toronto on September 28 and 29. In his paper Michael argues that a modern tension between the logic of economic centralization and concerns of participatory democracy may be alleviated through a Keynesian inspired approach to federalism. Federal powers should be read in a cyclical manner so that they may be balanced against competing claims of regional and individual autonomy. Because the economic basis of regulation is inherently fluctuating, and because the judicial determination of regional versus national economic interest is so open to interpretation, a Keynesian inspired approach arguably provides an advance in constitutional guidance. The Conference program and paper abstracts are available here.
University of Calgary
Faculty of Law
