Evolving Federalism & Region-based Decentralization

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Empower the regions, respect diversity, decongest Imperial Manila.

The 1987 Constitution defines the Philippines as being a unitary state, centralized around the capital of Manila. The result has been that most economic opportunities and opportunities for quality education and self-development are concentrated around the National Capital Region, and leaving the countryside, the provinces, and other cities relatively underdeveloped.

Evolving Federalism by Regions

As such, ordinary Filipinos seeking higher education or better job opportunities are forced to flock to Metropolitan Manila in order to try their luck, unfortunately resulting in the massive population congestion, higher pollution levels, sub-standard living conditions, extreme traffic jams, and high crime rate of Metro Manila. It has also caused the Philippine provinces to have to remit most of their taxes to the capital, and after aggregating the entire amount at the national level, smaller amounts are redistributed back to the local entities, giving them little incentive to develop their own local economies as whatever they produce does not exactly go straight to their own development and instead is mostly remitted back to the capital.

By allowing for evolving region-based decentralization, the different regions in the Philippines will be better empowered to take control of their own economic decision-making, giving them greater incentives to develop their economies, attract their own investors, and create local opportunities that would allow their own people to prosper while staying in their own regions without needing to migrate to the National Capital Region. Empowering the regions this way also respects the cultures, traditions, and languages of the different ethnicities found in the different regions as this devolution of powers will allow the different regions to protect their own local cultural and/or linguistic heritage.

Watch this video that talks about the concept.

Academic Papers & PDFs on Federalism:

Full Playlist of Federalism Lecture:

Individual Modules of the Federalism Lecture:

Module 0: Dr. Jan Erk: Introduction to the Course!

Module 1:1 Dr. Jan Erk: The Promises of Federalism

Module 1:2 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism and Decentralization part 1

Module 1:3 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism and Decentralization part 2

Module 1:4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview of Federalism and Decentralization Reflections and Implications

Module 2:1 Dr. Jan Erk: Self Rule and Shared Rule

Module 2:2 Dr. Jan Erk: Distribution of Power

Module 2:3 Dr. Jan Erk: Multiple Identities

Module 2:4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview of Foundational Issues

Module 2:5 Dr. Jan Erk: Weekly chat Modules 1 and 2 A message from beautiful South Africa

Module 3:1 Dr. Jan Erk: Legal Foundations

Module 3:2 Dr. Jan Erk: Political Foundations

Module 3:3 Dr. Jan Erk: Socio Economic and Socio Demographic Foundations

Module 3:4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview of Three Scholarly Angles

Module 4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview

Module 4:1 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism in South Africa

Module 4:2 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism in Ethiopia

Module 4:3 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism in Nigeria

Module 4:4 Extra video Dr. Jan Erk Interview with Assefa Fiseha

Module 5.1 Dr. Jan Erk: Decentralization in Africa

Module 5.2 Dr. Jan Erk: Economic Development and Decentralization

Module 5.3 Dr. Jan Erk: Unintended Consequences

Module 5.4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview

Module 5:5 Extra video: Dr. Jan Erk Interview with Nico Steytler

Module 6.1 Dr. Jan Erk: State Capacity

Module 6.2 Dr. Jan Erk: Imported Institutional Blueprints vs Local Solutions

Module 6.3 Dr. Jan Erk: International Involvement

Module 6:4 Extra video chat with Dr. Jan Erk

Module 6:5 Extra video Dr. Jan Erk Interview with Shawn Houlihan

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Module 0: Dr. Jan Erk: Introduction to the Course!
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Module 1:1 Dr. Jan Erk: The Promises of Federalism
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Module 1:2 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism and Decentralization part 1
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Module 1:3 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism and Decentralization part 2
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Module 1:4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview of Federalism and Decentralization Reflections and Implications
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Module 2:1 Dr. Jan Erk: Self Rule and Shared Rule
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Module 2:2 Dr. Jan Erk: Distribution of Power
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Module 2:3 Dr. Jan Erk: Multiple Identities
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Module 2:4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview of Foundational Issues
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Module 2:5 Dr. Jan Erk: Weekly chat Modules 1 and 2 A message from beautiful South Africa
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Module 3:1 Dr. Jan Erk: Legal Foundations
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Module 3:2 Dr. Jan Erk: Political Foundations
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Module 3:3 Dr. Jan Erk: Socio Economic and Socio Demographic Foundations
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Module 3:4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview of Three Scholarly Angles
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Module 4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview
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Module 4:1 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism in South Africa
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Module 4:2 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism in Ethiopia
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Module 4:3 Dr. Jan Erk: Federalism in Nigeria
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Module 4:4 Extra video Dr. Jan Erk Interview with Assefa Fiseha
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Module 5.1 Dr. Jan Erk: Decentralization in Africa
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Module 5.2 Dr. Jan Erk: Economic Development and Decentralization
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Module 5.3 Dr. Jan Erk: Unintended Consequences
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Module 5.4 Dr. Jan Erk: Overview
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Module 5:5 Extra video: Dr. Jan Erk Interview with Nico Steytler
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Module 6.1 Dr. Jan Erk: State Capacity
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Module 6.2 Dr. Jan Erk: Imported Institutional Blueprints vs Local Solutions
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Module 6.3 Dr. Jan Erk: International Involvement
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Module 6:4 Extra video chat with Dr. Jan Erk
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Module 6:5 Extra video Dr. Jan Erk Interview with Shawn Houlihan

Forum of Federations Basic Lectures:

Module 1: Why is Federalism important to the World?

Module 2: How do Federal Countries work and do they work the same?

Module 3: How does the central government define and shape a country?

Module 4: Why are constitutions important to effective federal governance?

Module 5: How do Federal Countries organize the raising, sharing, and spending of money?

Module 6: How the Central Governments and Subnational Governments work together in Federalism

Module 7: How do Federal Countries balance Unity and Diversity?

Learning about Fiscal Federalism Part 1

Learning about Fiscal Federalism Part 2

Decentralization 1: Why central and local governments are both necessary

Decentralization 2: The South African Way

Decentralization 3: Switzerland

Decentralization 4: The Canadian Way

Decentralization 5: Tunisia, towards Decentralization

The Quest for Federalism in Nepal

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Module 1: Why is Federalism important to the World?
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Module 2: How do Federal Countries work and do they work the same?
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Module 3: How does the central government define and shape a country?
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Module 4: Why are constitutions important to effective federal governance?
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Module 5: How do Federal Countries organize the raising, sharing, and spending of money?
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Module 6: How the Central Governments and Subnational Governments work together in Federalism
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Module 7: How do Federal Countries balance Unity and Diversity?
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Learning about Fiscal Federalism Part 1
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Learning about Fiscal Federalism Part 2
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Decentralization 1: Why central and local governments are both necessary
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Decentralization 2: The South African Way
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Decentralization 3: Switzerland
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Decentralization 4: The Canadian Way
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Decentralization 5: Tunisia, towards Decentralization
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The Quest for Federalism in Nepal