Subnational Health Spending and Soft Budget Constraints in OECD Countries

By Ernesto Crivelli, Adam Leive, Thomas Stratmann

June 1, 2010

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Ernesto Crivelli, Adam Leive, and Thomas Stratmann. Subnational Health Spending and Soft Budget Constraints in OECD Countries, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2010) accessed November 21, 2024

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

Government spending on health has grown as a percent of GDP over the last 40 years in industrialized countries. Widespread decentralization of healthcare systems has often accompanied this increase in spending. In this paper, we explore the effect of soft budget constraints on subnational health spending in a sample of OECD countries. We find countries where subnational governments rely primarily on central government financing and enjoy large borrowing autonomy have higher healthcare spending than those with more restrictions on subnational government borrowing.

Subject: Expenditure, Fiscal stabilization, Health, Health care spending, Total expenditures

Keywords: Autonomy, Country, Government, Health spending, Spending, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

26
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2010/147
Stock No:

WPIEA2010147
ISBN:

9781455201303
ISSN:

1018-5941

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