 Is There Convergence in Provincial Spending Priorities?Michael M. Atkinson and Gerald Bierling Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports from McMaster University Abstract: This article examines the question of whether the provinces are becoming increasingly similar in their total spending and in the level of spending devoted to particular functional areas. Using various measures of spending, we begin by briefly tracing the pattern of provincial spending between 1971 and 1994. We then show, using Dispersion Indexes, that in some areas there has been a persistent movement toward similar levels of spending and similar spending priorities, while in other areas a divergent or indeterminate pattern has been established. Of some importance is the fact that particular provinces are outliers or influential cases and as such have the capacity to influence significantly the degree of convergence observed. In addition, the twenty-four year period is not one unbroken pattern. In some cases the provinces reverse their initial convergent direction and become increasingly different from one another. We suggest some reasons for these patterns, including the role of federal- provincial fiscal relations and the impact of changing economic conditions. Keywords: convergence; provincial spending priorities; dispersion indexes (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mcm:qseprr:333 Access Statistics for this paper More papers in Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports from McMaster University Contact information at EDIRC. |
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