Abstract
Although central to intergovernmental relations, equalisation is scarcely addressed by comparative constitutional scholars. To bridge the gap, this chapter explores the different sets of legal tools that can be traced back to the category of ‘equalisation mechanisms’. In particular, the analysis is limited to the rules that design and govern different systems of equalisation having regard to institutional actors and decision-making procedures, exploring the role of subnational governments in making equalisation-related decisions with the purpose to show the coexistence of a plurality of equalisation paradigms and to verify whether and to what extent common trends do emerge in practice. Precondition of this study is that institutions and procedures governing equalisation mechanisms are determinant of the functioning of a federal system and of the federal equilibrium.