Impact Of Devolution Research Articles

The impact of devolution on experienced health and well-being

Devolution of health systems from national to local levels is a common focus of policymakers across the world. The overarching aim is to improve population health by better meeting the specific needs of local citizens. We examine the case of a coordinated devolution across several public service sectors in Greater Manchester, England, in 2016. We estimate the impact on experienced health and well-being using Short-Form 12 scores from 13,938 adult respondents to the UK Household Longitudinal Survey between 2012 and 2020. We use difference-in-differences and lagged-dependent variable regressions to compare Greater Manchester to the rest of England. We find no statistically significant changes in experienced health and well-being over the four years following the start of devolution. Our findings suggest that devolving population health management alone without budgetary powers and local accountability mechanisms may not be effective in improving experienced health and well-being in the relatively short-term.

In the Shadow of Administrative Decentralization: The Impact of Devolution on Subnational Service Provision

Decentralization is often regarded as a panacea for achieving good governance. Yet few studies have explored how devolution (to subnational governments) affects policy agendas. In this article, we investigate how devolution affects two aspects of public service provision—economic growth and environmental protection based on the experience of China. The results show that the devolution simultaneously promotes local economic development and damages the environment. These mixed effects can be attributed to the administrative mechanism of the interaction between devolution and the distribution of government attention, which is more concerned with outcomes that can be observed in the short run rather than the long run. Our results highlight the complexity of governance and demonstrate the architecture for an effective policy framework design.

The effect of devolution on health: a generalised synthetic control analysis of Greater Manchester, England

The devolution of public services from central to local government can increase sensitivity to local population needs but might also reduce the expertise and resources available. Little evidence is available on the impact of devolution on population health. We evaluated the effect of devolution affecting health services and wider determinants of health on life expectancy in Greater Manchester, England. We estimated changes in life expectancy in Greater Manchester relative to a control group from the rest of England (excluding London), using a generalised synthetic control method. Using local district-level data collected between Jan 1, 2006 and Dec 31, 2019, we estimated the effect of devolution on the whole population and stratified by sex, district, income deprivation, and baseline life expectancy. After devolution, from November, 2014, life expectancy in Greater Manchester was 0·196 years (95% CI 0·182-0·210) higher than expected when compared with the synthetic control group with similar pre-devolution trends. Life expectancy was protected from the decline observed in comparable areas in the 2 years after devolution and increased in the longer term. Increases in life expectancy were observed in eight of ten local authorities, were larger among men than women (0·338 years [0·315-0·362] for men; 0·057 years [0·040-0·074] for women), and were larger in areas with high income deprivation (0·390 years [0·369-0·412]) and lower life expectancy before devolution (0·291 years [0·271-0·311]). Greater Manchester had better life expectancy than expected after devolution. The benefits of devolution were apparent in the areas with the highest income deprivation and lowest life expectancy, suggesting a narrowing of inequalities. Improvements were likely to be due to a coordinated devolution across sectors, affecting wider determinants of health and the organisation of care services. The Health Foundation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

The Impact of Devolution on Health: A Synthetic Control Analysis of Greater Manchester in England

The Impact of Devolution on Health: A Synthetic Control Analysis of Greater Manchester in England

Devolution and the efficiency of cultural heritage preservation: the case of regional museums in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the impact of devolution on the efficiency of regional museums in the Czech Republic, a country with a more than 40-year communist history. According to our results, devolution in the Czech Republic did not lead to increased efficiency, contrary to what the general theory of decentralization assumes. In our opinion, this situation is caused by path dependency, the frozen public administration reform, and the conservative approach of managers in the cultural heritage sector. It also shows that one-size-fits-all decentralization policy can have contradictory effects under specific conditions. Additionally, it is clear that the impacts of decentralization must be seen in greater detail and that we must distinguish among the effects of individual types of decentralization.

The Impact of Devolution on Government Size and Provision of Social Services: Evidence from Pakistan

espanolEn este documento se contrasta la relacion entre la reforma de la politica de devolucion, que se produjo en 2001 en Pakistan, el tamano del gobierno y su relacion con determinados componentes del gasto gubernamental. Se estima un modelo de datos de panel para las provincias de Pakistan para el periodo 1990-2015. Los resultados proporcionan evidencia empirica de la hipotesis de la mancomunidad, es decir a mayor tamano del gobierno mayor devolucion. El efecto de la descentralizacion, que informa del tamano del gobierno, depende de la forma en que los gobiernos subcentrales financien sus gastos. Los resultados sugieren que como consecuencia de la reforma de la politica de devolucion se produce un aumento signifcativo en la magnitud del gasto en sanidad y en educacion a nivel local. EnglishThis paper provides empirical evidence on the association between post-2001 devolution reform policy, government size, and specifc components of government expenditures based on a sample of panel data of provincial units in Pakistan from 1990 to 2015. The results demonstrate that devolution is associated with a larger government size, which provides empirical support for the common-pool hypothesis, implying that the decentralization that matters for the size of the general government depends on how sub-national governments finance their expenditures. Moreover, the fndings suggest a signifcant increase in the magnitude of Health and education facilities at the local level following the devolution reforms.

The decentralisation of the governance of UK higher education: the effects of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and on England

ABSTRACT This article explores the impact of devolution from a centralised UK governance model on universities in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, and shows how a unified system of higher education has been transformed into four systems with contrasting aims and objectives. The structure that has been arrived at makes the UK Government directly responsible for English higher education, the largest of the four systems, but the devolved nations often find themselves making policies which are reactive to or opposed to those adopted by the English system. It argues that devolution may not have been good for the English system where the freedom to adopt a fully marketised policy with its consequential reinforcement of differentiation between institutions and its encouragement of the establishment of a ‘business model’ of institutional governance would have been resisted by political representation from Scotland and Wales, both unsympathetic to the approach adopted in England. It concludes that the creation of devolved systems in Scotland and Wales has been successful in that it has increased the diversity of UK higher education and moved universities closer to their regions. However, devolution has not served Northern Ireland well because of the stalemate in the political life there.

Lost in the Process? The impact of devolution on abortion law in the United Kingdom

Using the case study of abortion policy across the United Kingdom, this article takes a feminist institutionalist approach to advance our understanding of state architecture and party competition within decentralised political systems. Despite increasing divergences across the United Kingdom in relation to abortion policy, contemporary debates around abortion access have rarely become politicised. Moreover, as this article demonstrates, when they have, the subject has been framed by politicians as a constitutional matter, relating to legislative competencies, rather than considered in terms of women’s rights. This framing, we argue, is linked to the specific constitutional arrangements of the post-devolution UK and the political strategies of the parties operating within them. Drawing upon parliamentary debates and interviews with political representatives to map the circumstances driving changes to abortion policy in the United Kingdom, this article introduces important comparative lessons for other cases of political decentralisation on the discussions and policies concerning women’s rights.

Half-hearted Devolution: A view of Kenya’s water governance from Siaya County, Kenya

ABSTRACTDecentralization in countries around the world occurred as a form of structural revolution in redistribution of power in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2010, Kenya too went through a fundamental reform in which a new constitution was promulgated, which put into place a devolved system of government. This structural revolution has directly affected issues related to water governance in Kenya, but reflects similar trends and changes established internationally. This article reviews the devolution process in Kenya and its consequences. It delves into water legislation from the perspective of devolution and analyzes how devolution functions and objectives were formed with the new regulations. Finally, this study analyzes how policies and their ramifications are manifested on the ground in Siaya County in Western Kenya. The author applies mixed methodical methods of document review of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and of the Water Acts 2002 and 2016 as well as open-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders and observations conducted in Siaya County on two field trips between July 2017 and February 2018. A close examination of the impact of devolution on the sustainable access to clean water in Siaya County will demonstrate that the transition to devolution and compliance with the 2016 Act have led to the surfacing of a host of problems including inadequate governance.

Devolution in the Czech and Slovak institutions of cultural heritage

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a comparative study of the impact of devolution on institutions in the area of cultural heritage in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Both states had formed a previous federation. After the break-up of the federation, public administration reforms with different trajectories took place in each state. In the Czech Republic, part of the museums was transferred from the authority of the ministries to the regions. This process, however, has had different trajectory in Slovakia. In this article, we compare the efficiency of Czech museums of a regional character with regional museums in Slovakia where the devolution did not occur. For comparison, we have utilized input-based envelopment data analysis. Our results suggest that institutions which have undergone the above-described form of devolution have lower performance than other institutions.

Scottish Communicative Space and the Uses of Academic Expertise

This essay offers some personal reflections regarding the impact of devolution on the author's research and public-facing activities. It begins with a discussion of research into the new post-devolution political system established at the Scottish Parliament and continues with an account of the author's subsequent involvement in a little-known communications audit in of that institution that took place in 2001. The essay concludes with brief remarks on a further use of academic expertise in representing the Scottish interest in media and communications regulation.

The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War, by Robert J.Gordon. 2016. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 762 + xii. ISBN 978‐0‐691‐14772‐7, $30.95 (hardcover).

Devolution in the United Kingdom (UK) is at its most developed stage ever. From the advent of Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish devolution processes in 1997, the steady march of more autonomy has continued. Devolution in the UK is not symmetric, either between or within the nations and regions of the UK. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own devolved legislatures; England does not. Scotland has far greater powers than the legislatures in Wales and Northern Ireland, reflecting seemingly different appetites for devolution. At the same time, the growth and development of city-deals tied to the creation of new “metro-mayors” in some parts of England will see much more local control than others. Now is a good time to reflect on this process, and to consider the nature and impact of devolution in the UK and its economy.

The Impact of Devolution on Organizational Effectiveness: An Exploratory Case Study of Faith-Based Child Care

Although the foundations of President Bush’s faith-based initiative could be traced back at least to Colonial times, the re-packaging of this idea has raised concerns about the role of the federal government in the affairs of faith based organizations, the professionalization of social services, rent seeking, and the crowding out of private funding. This paper aims to examine the local implications of decentralizing the provision of social services in Lee County, Florida. More specifically, we will identify how devolution has affected the organizational effectiveness of faith-based organizations in the day care sector. For this paper, organizational effectiveness was defined in terms of goal setting, efficient use of resources, and reputation. This initial exploratory study suggests that any devolutionary policy that aims to aggressively include faith-based organizations in the provision of social services will face the challenge of weak information flow mechanisms within the industry.

Managing Healthcare Provision and Health Outcomes Through Local Governance

This paper examines the impact of devolution of responsibilities and finances to local governments in India on the health status and incomes of men and women. Using a national dataset with details on health, health-seeking behaviour and local governance, we estimate a system of simultaneous equations to show that healthcare expenditures at the household level, choice of healthcare provider, and the incidence of illness will jointly impact individual incomes. We find positive impacts of participation in local governance, reserving the position of village head for women, and family inheritance for women on health outcomes, choice of healthcare provider, and expenditure on healthcare.

Book Review: Britain and Ireland: Everyday Life After the Irish Conflict: The Impact of Devolution and Cross-border Co-operation

Book Review: Britain and Ireland: Everyday Life After the Irish Conflict: The Impact of Devolution and Cross-border Co-operation

Welfare reform and devolution: issues of parity, discretion and divergence for the UK government and the devolved administrations

The impact of devolution in the UK on social security is examined in the context of the major powers in the area continuing to be exercised by the Westminster government. Developments and principles involved are described in three perspectives and phases. First, the established model of parity with minor adjustments. Second, parity with enhanced discretion associated with the introduction of welfare reforms. Third, the prospect of the future transformation of the parity principle with increased focus on greater fiscal responsibility and greater devolution and divergence in social security, and with the additional context of the referendum on independence for Scotland. Also discussed are the implications of either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote in the Scottish referendum.

Addressing oral health inequalities in the United Kingdom – the impact of devolution on population-based fluoride policy

The front covers of the current volume of the British Dental Journal (Volume 215) feature drawings by children participating in the Welsh national oral health improvement programme - Designed to Smile. This programme involves 78,350 children in the Principality, who are deemed at greatest risk of tooth decay, participating in daily toothbrushing in 1,211 nurseries and schools. It mirrors the Childsmile programme in Scotland. Since devolution in 1999, approaches to oral health improvement across the United Kingdom have diverged. This article considers the way in which population-based policies with regards to fluoride use have varied between countries.

The Party Politics of Englishness

Research Highlights and Abstract provides one of the first assessments of how British multi-national and English political parties have responded to existing and emergent identity tensions in England whilst continuing to defend the concept of the post-devolution British union-state. extends debates about multi-level party political systems in multi-national states which have typically focused on Scotland, Wales and, to a lesser extent, Northern Ireland. considers the potential that debates about English national identity could morph into a party politics of Englishness. assesses the potential for nascent English nationalism to encourage divergent party political responses to questions of English governance, citizenship and nation identity. This article assesses how the main British multi-national parties, whilst retaining an attachment of one form or another to the concept of the Union-state, have responded to existing and emergent identity tensions. Through examination of Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, with brief discussion of the BNP, UKIP and the English Democrats, it will consider the impact of devolution and the threat of separatist nationalism on party approaches and policy choices concerning English identity construction and governance. It will also explore the extent to which devolution has compromised the ability of UK politicians to ‘speak of Britain’ (they rarely use the term UK) and the four composite nations. By comparing and contrasting the narratives articulated by parties at different levels of governance it will ask whether a nascent ‘party politics of Englishness’ has emerged which can accommodate these challenges.

Additional learning needs policy in the devolved polities of the UK: a systems perspective

Using a systems approach, this paper explores the impact of devolution on additional learning needs (ALN) policy in compulsory phase education. Focus is placed on ALN/SEN Codes of Practice, the schools curriculum, teacher training, and the work of education inspectorates and tribunals. Analysis reveals that the move to quasi‐federalism in the UK has led to a raft of territorially specific policies and resulted in contrasting legal rights for pupils and parents. The prevailing policy discourse is one of equality, inclusion and informed choice. Against this background, and with a number of reforms ongoing, there is evidence of progress in embedding measures to address ALN in the respective education systems. Notwithstanding this, analysis of the first decade of devolved policy and practice also reveals a number of shortcomings and challenges, including limitations in data‐gathering and staff training – as well as questions about the level of cohesion between the three elements of education provision identified by systems analysis.

Review: The Impact of Devolution on Social Policy

Birrell defines social policy broadly to include, among others, health and social care, education, housing, children's services, social work and social security. With the exception of the latter, most social policy responsibility now falls within the jurisdiction of the devolved institutions. Indeed, social policies are arguably their core responsibility and certainly make up a considerable bulk of their expenditure. Devolution thus provided scope for significant variation in the types of social policies pursued in different parts of the UK.