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Decentralization and Access to Social Services in Colombia

Jean-Paul Faguet and Fabio Sanchez Torres

No 258, Research Department working papers from CAF Development Bank Of Latinamerica

Abstract: A central claim in favor of decentralization is that it will improve access to public services, but few studies examine this question empirically. This paper explores the effects of decentralization to access to health and education in Colombia. We benefit from an original database that includes over 95% of Colombian municipalities. Our results show that decentralization improved enrollment rates in public schools and access of the poor to public health services. In both sectors, improving access was driven by the financial contributions of local governments. Our theoretical findings imply that local governments with better information about local preferences will concentrate their resources in areas their voters care about most. The combination of empirical and theoretical results implies that decentralization provides local officials with the information and incentives they need to allocate resources in a manner responsive to voters’ needs, and improve the quality of expenditures so as to maximize their impact. The end result is greater usage of local services by citizens.

Keywords: Desarrollo social; Educación; Sector público; Equidad e inclusión social; Investigación socioeconómica; Salud (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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https://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/258

Related works:
Journal Article: Decentralization and access to social services in Colombia (2014) Downloads
Working Paper: Decentralization and Access to Social Services in Colombia (2009) Downloads
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