Decentralization and the Productive Efficiency of Government: Evidence from Swiss Cantons

Iwan Barankay () and Ben Lockwood

No 2477, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Advocates of fiscal decentralization argue that amongst other benefits, it can increase the efficiency of delivery of government services. This paper is one of the first to evaluate this claim empirically by looking at the association between expenditure decentralization and the productive efficiency of government using a data-set of Swiss cantons. We first provide careful evidence that expenditure decentralization is a powerful proxy for legal local autonomy. Further panel regressions of Swiss cantons provide robust evidence that more decentralization is associated with higher educational attainment. We also show that these gains lead to no adverse effects across education types but that male students benefited more from educational decentralization closing, for the Swiss case, the gender education gap.

Keywords: decentralization; productive efficiency; local public goods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H40 H52 H70 I20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2006-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-pbe and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: Journal of Public Economics, 2007, 91 (5-6), 1197-1218

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Related works:
Journal Article: Decentralization and the productive efficiency of government: Evidence from Swiss cantons (2007)
Working Paper: Decentralization and the Productive Efficiency of Government: Evidence from Swiss Cantons (2006)
Working Paper: Decentralization and the Productive Efficiency of Government: Evidence from Swiss Cantons (2005)
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