The evolutionary economic implications of constitutional designs: lessons from the constitutional morphogenesis of New England and New Zealand

This paper examines the constitutional morphogenesis of New England and New Zealand to determine the effects on their respective economic development—specifically in terms of economic complexity. New England had revolted against a dominion that limited the local autonomy of its colonies; alternatively, almost 200 years later, New Zealand abolished a quasi-federal provincial system in favour of a unitary state. Constitutional economics, through the works of its founding father, James Buchanan, is employed to explain the effects of these constitutional choices. The paper argues that empowering local government is the key to economic prosperity in a globalising world, where the role of the nation-state is increasingly marginalised. Nourishing local autonomy is important for constitutional aspirations

On the Constitutionality of Hard State Border Closures in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

I investigate the constitutionality of hard state border closures in the United States as a prophylactic response to a pandemic. This type of border closure prevents people from entering a State, except for exempt travelers, a category that includes, for example, military, judicial and government officers, and people granted entry on compassionate grounds. Those allowed to enter usually have to then go through a quarantine regime before being released into the community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, no State has attempted such closures. However, epidemiological experts suggest that, in comparison to other border and non-border measures, such closures are more effective. Given the World Health Organization prediction of more pandemics in the foreseeable future, it is imperative that the constitutionality of such hard closures is investigated. I use structural analysis to argue that a recent challenge to hard border closures in Australia suggests that, under a strict scrutiny review, the Supreme Court is likely to uphold such closures in the United States. While actual implementation requires investigating issues that go beyond a constitutional analysis, these findings highlight the need for a wider conversation around a federal goldilocks zone when responding to the next pandemic

On the ‘residuum of powers’ in the great Anglo-American Federations: a neo-Bagehotian-Coasean gloss

In some constitutional designs, federation is based on the doctrine of ‘residuum of powers,’ where one level of government is privileged vis-à-vis the other, and where a concomitant enumeration of powers gives rise to a presumption of a restricted capacity to legislate outside powers so specified. The quintessential examples of this approach are the Federal Constitutions of the United States, Canada and Australia. The Coase theorem explains how and why efficiency in the allocation of these powers emerges regardless of the initial allocation of residuum powers. The analysis confirms this Coasean proposition in an evolutionary context. In all three jurisdictions, regardless of the initial allocation of powers, there is a neo-Bagehotian (evolutionary) shift from the canonical constitution and towards an ‘efficient constitution’—an institution that avoids (transaction) costs. Bargaining between general and special purpose governments allocates powers such that transaction costs are avoided. The paper provides an efficiency definition based on the distinction between symmetric federalism (as seen in the United States and Australia) and asymmetric federalism (as seen in Canada). On aggregate, the locus of this efficiency is either central (as in the case of the United States and Australia), or distributed (as in the case of Canada). Specific examples from all three jurisdictions provide further illustrations. Normatively, further efficiency gains could come from developing (constitutional) legal doctrines that dialogue directly with this evolution

Recommendations on the Optimal Constitutional Recognition of the First Nations in Australia

This note extends my previous analysis of the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (‘First Nations’) by providing guidance on the optimal approach for this recognition. The guidance is founded on the concepts of efficiency and equity. An optimal recognition is defined as one that achieves both objectives simultaneously. Efficiency flows from a dynamic recognition that changes over time relatively easily, as exemplified by a treaty-based approach. The equity criterion has, as a proxy, legal pluralism, whereby constitutional recognition enlivens ‘Indigenous jurisprudence’ through mechanisms such as self-governance. The proposal is to combine efficiency and equity by guaranteeing the collective rights of Indigenous Australians in accordance with universally recognised principles and norms of international law, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (for which the Commonwealth of Australia announced its support in 2009). This in turn is likely to guide a treaty-based approach to the relationship between the Commonwealth and First Nations that can evolve towards legal pluralism

Underwater acoustic communication under doppler effects

In this thesis we perform a research survey of the three available technologies for wireless underwater communications. We discuss the main features and drawbacks inherent to acoustic, RF, and optical communications. We focus our research on underwater acoustic communications, and we analyze and evaluate the channel frequency response of Arraial do Cabo using data acquired in situ. We further investigate the Doppler effect, a phenomenon that is inherent to underwater acoustic channels. We analyze and justify a compensation algorithm to mitigate the Doppler effects. We propose a simplified algorithm version for minimizing the required number of pilot symbols. We also develop a simple strategy to determine how often our proposed compensation method should be retrained. Our main contribution is the proposal of a new receiver design to deal with Doppler effects. We present the idea of iteratively adapt the correlator filter placed at the receiver side. We show that the adaptation of this filter’s support reduces the inter-symbol interference of the estimated symbols. Besides this idea, we demonstrate that the time-dependent phase-shift component of the received signal should be removed beforehand. That is, we propose a modification in the signal processing sequence blocks for improving the symbol estimation. For testing and comparing this new receiver design, we implement a communication model encompassing physical layer aspects. We perform several numerical simulations for single-carrier and multicarrier systems. Simulation results show that our proposal might provide a reduction in the bit error rate for high signal-to-noise ratios. This performance improvement can be observed for all tested relative movement, and even with dense digital signal constellation.Nesta tese foi realizada uma pesquisa extensa sobre as tecnologias existentes para comunicação sem fio subaquática. Foram analisadas as principais características das comunicações acústicas, RF e ótica. O estudo foi aprofundado na comunicação acústica, e foi realizada uma análise da resposta em frequência do canal de Arraial do Cabo com dados adquiridos no local. O efeito Doppler, um fenômeno inerente aos canais subaquáticos acústicos, foi investigado de forma minuciosa. Dentre as técnicas estudas para compensação deste efeito, foi escolhido um algoritmo adaptativo, o qual foi re-analisado com uma nova abordagem. Uma versão simplificada deste algoritmo foi proposta para reduzir a quantidade de símbolos pilotos. Foi também desenvolvida uma estratégia para determinar a frequência de treinamento deste novo algoritmo. A principal contribuição da tese é a proposta de uma nova estrutura de receptor para compensar o efeito Doppler. Nesta estrutura, é proposta a adaptação de forma iterativa do filtro correlator. A adaptação do suporte temporal deste filtro reduz a interferência inter-simbólica. Além desta ideia, foi demonstrado que a componente de fase do sinal recebido, que é dependente do tempo, deve ser removida em um estágio anterior ao usual. Ou seja, foi proposta uma modificação na sequência do processamento do sinal recebido para melhorar a sua estimativa. Para testar esta nova estrutura do receptor, foi implementado um sistema de comunicação. Foram realizadas simulações numéricas com sistemas de uma única e de múltiplas portadoras. Os resultados das simulações mostram que a nova estrutura pode reduzir a quantidade de erros de bits para altos valores de razão sinal-ruído. A melhora do desempenho pode ser observada em todas as velocidades relativas testadas, e também para constelações densas

The case for subsidiarity as a constitutional principle in New Zealand

This doctoral thesis uses historical analysis, constitutional economics, and complexity theory to furnish positive and normative arguments for subsidiarity as a constitutional principle in New Zealand. The principle of subsidiarity is the hypostasis of the Treaty of Waitangi, both in its English and Māori texts. It is also evident in the thinking behind the New Zealand Constitution Acts of 1846 and 1852. This constitutional tradition has been occulted since the abolition of the New Zealand provincial system in 1876. Constitutional economics suggests an optimal limit to jurisdictional footprints (territories). This entails preference for political orders where sovereignty is shared between different cities rather states where capital cities dominate. The resuscitation of subsidiarity as a foundational element of our constitution holds the key to economic prosperity in a globalising world. Moreover, insights from complexity theory suggest that sustainability is a response to the ‘problem of scale’. It is a fitness trait that prevents highly complex systems from collapsing. The nation state is a highly complex system within which cities function as ‘attractors’. The collapse of such systems would ensue if there were strong coupling between attractors. Such coupling obtains under legal monism. Only subsidiarity can make this eventuality improbable. Understanding the ‘emergent properties’ of sustainability and the ‘self-organizing’ properties of subsidiarity entails a shift in policy emphasis towards the latter. The thesis recommends changes to the Constitution Act 1986 to reinstitute subsidiarity as a constitutional principle. New Zealand cities, in particular the Auckland supercity, would benefit from wider local autonomy under this vision. Nevertheless, constitutional change will have to start with public opinion, especially in relation to subsidiarity and its role in shaping the relationship between cities and the central government

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