The quality and efficiency of public service delivery in the UK and China

Zhu, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6687-3267 and Peyrache, A. (2017) The quality and efficiency of public service delivery in the UK and China. Regional Studies, 51 (2). pp. 285-296. ISSN 0034-3404 doi: 10.1080/00343404.2015.1080992

Abstract/Summary

The quality and efficiency of public service delivery in the UK and China, Regional Studies. This paper examines the efficiency of public service delivery at a regional level in both the UK and China using a method based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) that measures aggregate country-level inefficiency. This country-level inefficiency is then decomposed into three components: (1) lack of best practices at a regional level; (2) quality of the public service delivery; and (3) potential efficiency gains realizable via reallocation of expenditure across regions. The empirical results indicate that most UK inefficiency comes from the reallocation effect, while most Chinese inefficiency is attributable to lack of best practices; quality explains more of the expenditure variations in the UK relative to China. The paper speculates about fiscal (de)centralization as a possible explanation for such differences.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/69057
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/00343404.2015.1080992
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Economics
Publisher	Taylor and Francis
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