Decentralization and resource contributions within local governance networks

Evidence from health sector reform in Honduras

Bibliographic Data

ID6331007
AuthorsAlan Zarychta (0000-0002-4342-2356, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice University of Chicago Chicago Illinois USA, corresponding author), Jade Wong (0000-0003-1950-9985, Blavatnik School of Government University of Oxford Oxford UK)
Year2024
Volume52
Issue1
Pages113-137
Publication date2024-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy Studies Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0190-292X • E-ISSN: 1541-0072
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/psj.12509
OpenAlexW4385810764
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited103

Many public services are co‐produced through networks of governmental and non‐governmental organizations that choose to or are obliged to contribute resources, a trend that has been reinforced through decentralization reforms. We utilize original data for 826 organizations across 65 local governance networks to assess how decentralization affects resource contributions while accounting for municipality context, network environment, and organizational attributes. Drawing on a quasi‐experimental design in the context of health sector reform in Honduras, we find that decentralization is associated with a slight reduction in the number of resource ties an organization contributes to other organizations in its network. This association is most prominent where municipal governments, rather than non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) or associations, are lead intermediary organizations under decentralization. Additionally, NGOs contribute more resource ties relative to community associations or public organizations, and consistent with a crowding‐out dynamic, we find that this relationship is attenuated under decentralization. Our results suggest that administrative reforms can influence resource contributing behavior by organizations and the structure of inter‐organizational networks, which are important but underemphasized mechanisms potentially linking decentralization to service delivery outcomes. This is particularly relevant for policymakers working to support network governance for the joint production of public services in under‐resourced settings

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