Equity in Local Service Distribution

Abstract

Equity is difficult to define and to analyze, but we believe a simplied version of it can become a useful conceptual tool for local administrators. The way to begin is to analyze local service distribution patterns. Officials in the larger local governments should, indeed, make the analysis of service distribution part of their operating routines. In this article we will suggest a framework for administrators to use in analyzing service distribution and offer suggestions for making judgments about the equity of service distribution patterns. We will relate the analytic framework and the equity judgment suggestions to four different categories of local services. We will then discuss how an operating official may use these ideas, and end by examining some of the limitations of the methods we propose. For the sake of brevity, we will devote only passing attention to dollar measures. That subject has received lengthy attention in recent productivity research. Public services are a subset of social, economic, and political activities resulting in the distribution of benefits in society. Local public service expenditures constitute a substantial portion of total domestic public service expenditures. In addition, nearly every domestic service includes transactions at the local level, by local governments or officials of other governments. To the extent that the quantity or quality of water supply, police protection, education, or other services vary among neighborhoods, wards, or other localities within a city or a metropolitan area, the question of the appropriateness of variation in service distribution may be raised. Politicians often are concerned about trade-offs between services e.g., shall police services or solid waste services be increased