Administrative (de)centralization, performance equity, and outcome achievement in rural contexts: An empirical study of U.S. child welfare systems
研究美国儿童福利系统中，中央集权与地方分权哪种行政体制更能实现预期结果、更公平，以及在农村地区的表现。发现集权系统在整体和农村地区结果更优，但公平性无显著差异。
Whether public services are better delivered through centralized or decentralized administrative systems is one of the most enduring debates in public administration. This article contributes to the debate with a study of program outcome achievement in U.S. child welfare services. We examine whether centralized state‐administered or decentralized county‐administered systems are more successful at realizing desired outcomes, which exhibit greater performance equity, and which are more successful at securing program outcomes in rural settings. Using a coarsened exact matching approach to quasi‐experimental research, we find that centralized child welfare systems exhibit greater success at achieving desired outcomes—in both rural contexts and overall. No discernible difference is found in centralized and decentralized systems' performance equity; outcome disparities exist under both structures. The study thus lends credence to centralization arguments, but at the same time cautions that centralized administration is not a structural panacea.