Conditional spending as an instrument of government

This chapter examines conditionality as an instrument of government, highlighting key risks associated with its use – namely, the circumvention of competence between different levels of governments; the political nature of discretionary enforcement powers; and the weakness of accountability instruments. It offers a comparative analysis of conditional spending in the USA and the European Union and demonstrates that, despite their non-coercive appearance, spending conditions serve as powerful instruments in the hands of central executives. By triggering similar issues of competence, discretion, and accountability, spending conditions ultimately consolidate executive power at the centre – both horizontally to the detriment of the other public powers and vertically at the expense of sub-federal entities.