Determinants of Efficiency in Child-Care Provision

Authors: Montén, Anna; Thater, Christian

Source: FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Volume 67, Number 4, December 2011 , pp. 378-403(26)

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Abstract:

We analyze the efficiency of the municipal provision of child care and identify the main determinants of inefficiency. A unique data set on child-care expenditures and school readiness in the eastern German state of Saxony allows us to control for possible differences in quality across municipalities. First, we measure the efficiency using data envelopment analysis. We find substantial efficiency differences; the median municipality is up to 28% inefficient. Second, we identify the determinants of inefficiency in a bootstrapped truncated regression. Explanatory variables, such as an uncompensated mayor or a larger share of over-65-year-olds, significantly increase inefficiency.

Keywords: CHILD CARE; EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS; MUNICIPALITIES; SERVICE PROVISION

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1628/001522111X614178

Publication date: 2011-12-01

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FinanzArchiv founded in 1884 is one of the world's oldest professional journals in public finance.

FinanzArchiv publishes original work from all fields of public economics which are of interest to an international readership, e.g. taxation, public debt, public goods, public choice, federalism, market failure, social policy, and the welfare state. Special emphasis is on high-quality theoretical and empirical papers on current policy issues.

FinanzArchiv is a well-established, internationally oriented journal in the field of public economics, widely read in Europe and all over the world.

FinanzArchiv is listed in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI, JCR impact factor 2007 0,296), in Current Contents/Social and Behavioral Sciences, in IDEAS and RePEc (IDEAS/RePEc simple impact factor 2008 1.177), in the Journal of Economic Literature (CD and online), and in the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences.

FinanzArchiv is a fully peer-reviewed journal committed to a prompt turnaround of submissions. No more than four months should pass between online submission of a manuscript and the editor's decision on acceptance, revision, or rejection.
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Determinants of Efficiency in Child-Care Provision

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