Welfare benefits in highly decentralized fiscal systems: Evidence on interregional mimicking

This paper analyzes the determinants of welfare benefit levels within a highly fiscally decentralized context. More specifically, we analyze the role of mimicking as a driver of the institutional design of subnational government policies in the absence of federal co-ordination and financing. Empiric...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ayala Cañón, Luis, Herrero Alcalde, Ana, Martinez‐Vazquez, Jorge
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
Repositorio:e-spacio. Repositorio Institucional de la UNED
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:e-spacio.uned.es:20.500.14468/30753
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/30753
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:5303 Contabilidad pública
5304 Actividad económica
welfare
fiscal federalism
yardstick competition
inequality
Descripción
Sumario:This paper analyzes the determinants of welfare benefit levels within a highly fiscally decentralized context. More specifically, we analyze the role of mimicking as a driver of the institutional design of subnational government policies in the absence of federal co-ordination and financing. Empirically we focus on the welfare benefit programs of Spanish regional governments during the period 1996-2015. Our results strongly support the significant role played by mimicking: regional public agents observe what their peers are doing and act accordingly, and this holds even in a context of low mobility of households.