Cookies?
Library Header Image
LSE Research Online LSE Library Services

The impact of decentralisation on the performance of health care systems: a non-linear relationship

Dougherty, Sean, Lorenzoni, Luca, Marino, Alberto ORCID: 0000-0003-1588-8746 and Murtin, Fabrice (2022) The impact of decentralisation on the performance of health care systems: a non-linear relationship. European Journal of Health Economics, 23 (4). 705 - 715. ISSN 1618-7598

Full text not available from this repository.
Identification Number: 10.1007/s10198-021-01390-1

Abstract

This paper examines the role of institutions—notably the degree of administrative decentralisation across levels of government—in health care decision-making and health spending as well as life expectancy. The empirical analysis builds on a new methodology to analyse health sector performance. In particular, the present analysis examines the impact of centralisation versus decentralisation of responsibilities across levels of government, making use of newly collected data on governance and expenditure assignment, as well as non-linear empirical specifications. An interlocking U-shaped relationship is found with respect to expenditure and life expectancy. Under moderate decentralisation, public spending in health care is lower, while life expectancy is higher, compared with more centralised systems; however, in highly decentralised systems, public spending is higher and life expectancy is lower. This finding of a “fish-shaped” relationship for decentralisation and outcomes also helps to understand recent reforms of OECD health systems, which have often reverted towards more moderate degrees of administrative decentralisation.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: https://www.springer.com/journal/10198
Additional Information: © 2021 The Authors, under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Divisions: Health Policy
Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
JEL classification: H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations > H75 - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I18 - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
Date Deposited: 14 Mar 2022 11:09
Last Modified: 05 Oct 2024 05:12
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/114342

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item