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Community-based outcomes of interlocal cooperation in social services

Author

Listed:
  • Germà Bel

    (Department of Econometrics, Statistics & Applied Economics, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.)

  • Joël Bühler

    (Department of Econometrics, Statistics & Applied Economics, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.)

  • Esther Pano

    (Department of Political Science and Constitutional Law. Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.)

Abstract

We investigate the effects of interlocal cooperation in social services. We focus on three poverty-related outcomes: Guaranteed minimum income, housing rental support, and diagnosis of children at risk. We had a rich database on municipalities in Catalonia. First, we apply a quasi-experimental strategy and then perform robustness analyses using panel models. Our most robust results indicate that cooperation has a positive and significant effect on rental assistance, but has no significant effects on guaranteed minimum income. This suggests that cooperation may be effective in improving community-based outcomes where these are determined by services which involve more complex tasks and procedures.

Suggested Citation

  • Germà Bel & Joël Bühler & Esther Pano, 2024. "Community-based outcomes of interlocal cooperation in social services," IREA Working Papers 202418, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Dec 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:ira:wpaper:202418
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    File URL: http://www.ub.edu/irea/working_papers/2024/202418.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    14. Blom-Hansen, Jens & Houlberg, Kurt & Serritzlew, Søren & Treisman, Daniel, 2016. "Jurisdiction Size and Local Government Policy Expenditure: Assessing the Effect of Municipal Amalgamation," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 110(4), pages 812-831, November.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism
    • H83 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Public Administration

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