ABSTRACT
Introduction In Germany, a Debt Brake was enshrined in the federal constitution (Basic Law) in 2009, committing both the federal government and the Länder to balance their budgets by 2016 and 2020, respectively. Due to the cooperative structure of German federalism and the high level of legislative and administrative interdependence (Bolleyer and Thorlakson 2012), the adoption of the Debt Brake required the cooperation of both levels of government.
