Abstract
This synopsis presents the arguments and _ndings of this thesis and discusses the ambition, contributions, as well as the practical and normative implications of the analysis. Two articles of the cumulative dissertation investigate tax competition among Swiss cantons, and the third analyzes the politics of tax centralization in the European Union (EU). While the Swiss analysis substantially contributes to the theoretical and methodological challenges of the research on interdependent policy making, the implications of the EU article are of relevance for understanding the current institutional challenges of European integration.