Does Devolution Lead to Regional Inequalities in Welfare Activity?
Does Devolution Lead to Regional Inequalities in Welfare Activity?
复制标题
权力下放是否会导致福利活动的地区不平等？
DOI：
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发表时间：
2010
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Joan Costa
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Joan Costa
一个反复出现的反对福利国家权力下放初期进程的理由是，导致福利活动的多样性妨碍了公共服务的一致性，并为区域不平等打开了大门。然而，据报道，从福利国家权力下放的经验来看，支持这一主张的经验证据有限。我利用了三项福利服务的经验证据--即1998-2006年西班牙的医疗保健、教育和长期护理。我的目的是探讨权力下放是否改变了福利活动中地区不平等的模式，并审查了区域经济发展以及政治和财政权力下放对福利活动中观察到的不平等模式的影响。我的调查结果表明，在完成所有三项福利服务的区域下放后，福利活动中的区域不平等现象有所减少。这一点在教育领域尤为明显，但在健康和长期护理领域也出现了(不那么明显)。研究发现，政治权力下放与34%的卫生保健活动不平等、22%的教育不平等和只有4%的长期护理活动的不平等有关，在长期护理活动中，地方当局继续发挥重要作用，不平等在很大程度上是由地区税收责任的差异来解释的。
A recurrent objection to incipient processes of welfare-state devolution is that inducing diversity in welfare activity hampers public service uniformity and opens the door to regional inequalities. However, limited empirical evidence has been reported to back this claim from experiences of welfare-state devolution. I draw upon empirical evidence of three welfare services—namely, health care, education, and long-term care in Spain, 1998–2006. I aim to explore whether devolution has shifted the patterns of regional inequalities in welfare activity, and examine the impact of regional economic development and political and fiscal devolution on the observed patterns of inequality in welfare activity. My findings indicate a reduction in regional inequalities in welfare activity after the completion of regional devolution of all three welfare services examined. This was especially noticeable in education but also occurred (less markedly) in health and long-term care. Political devolution was found to be associated with 34% of (the declining of) inequalities in health care activity, 22% of those in education, and only 4% of disparities in long-term care activity where local authorities have continued to play a heavy role, and inequalities are largely explained by regional differences in tax responsibilities.