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The impact of government decentralization on county health spending for the uninsured in California

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  • Richard Scheffler
  • Richard Smith

Abstract

We analyze Program Realignment, California’s 1991 policy of decentralizing control of health, mental health, and social services, from the state to the counties. Drawing from the economics literature on intergovernmental transfers and using data constructed for this study, we analyze the impact of Realignment on uninsured health spending. We find a change in the pattern of spending on indigent health services by counties following decentralization. Our results suggest, however, that county-level governments maintain a level of commitment to social-service spending that recent studies indicate may be lacking at the state level. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Scheffler & Richard Smith, 2006. "The impact of government decentralization on county health spending for the uninsured in California," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 237-258, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ijhcfe:v:6:y:2006:i:3:p:237-258
    DOI: 10.1007/s10754-006-9003-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Zampelli, Ernest M, 1986. "Resource Fungibility, the Flypaper Effect, and the Expenditure Impact of Grants-in-Aid," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 68(1), pages 33-40, February.
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    9. Fisher, Ronald C., 1982. "Income and grant effects on local expenditure: The flypaper effect and other difficulties," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 324-345, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Schmid, Hillel & Dolev, Talal & Szabo-Lael, Rachel, 2010. "Community-based programs for children at risk: The case of budget flexibility in Departments of Social Services in Israel," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 178-184, February.
    2. Masayoshi Hayashi, 2011. "The effects of medical factors on transfer deficits in Public Assistance in Japan: a quantile regression analysis," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 287-307, December.
    3. Hai Zhong, 2010. "The impact of decentralization of health care administration on equity in health and health care in Canada," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 219-237, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Federalism; State and local budget and expenditures; Public health; H72; H77; I18;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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