marble-cake federalism

A Federal official said something about “marble-cake federalism” and warned we’ll be hearing the phrase quite often in the future. […] Mr. Lindley’s title is deputy assistant secretary, Department of Commerce. Can you think of a better title for somebody explaining “marble-cake federalism”?

1967 March 16, Lou Panos, “Inside Baltimore”, in The Evening Sun, volume 114, number 127, Baltimore, Md., page D1, columns 1–2

Second, Pressman and Wildavsky’s assertion that programs failed because participants had diverse views with respect to complex phenomena is at best a very low level theoretical statement. In this respect, Pressman and Wildavsky resemble the students of marble-cake federalism, who find relationships too complicated to identify critical elements patterning the complexity.

1981, Paul E. Peterson, City Limits, Chicago, Ill.; London: The University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 90

In setting out to discover who would dare inundate his property, he received a firsthand lesson in marble-cake federalism.

1991, Jack E. Holmes, Michael J. Engelhardt, Robert E. Elder, American Government: Essentials & Perspectives, McGraw-Hill, Inc., →ISBN, page 80

We are, supposedly, a federal republic, where each level of government has specified powers and duties. It is often characterized as “marble-cake federalism,” instead of “layer cake federalism,” because sometimes those powers and duties overlap.

1994 June 1, John McClaughry, “Vermont Sheriff Takes on Federal Government”, in Rutland Daily Herald, volume 138, number 131, Rutland, Vt., page 15, columns 3–4

The theory of marble-cake federalism suggests that almost every public policy involves cooperation among multiple levels of government.

2001, Paul Soifer, Abraham Hoffman, D. Stephen Voss, CliffsQuickReview American Government, Hungry Minds, Inc., →ISBN, page 153