The reforms that have reshaped most public health care system have often been accompained by a process of devolution. However, this process has not always produced the desired effects and the existence of widespread soft budget constraint policies at local level is well documented. In this paper...

In this article we show that when the provision of paternalistic goods is entwined with income distribution, the political decision process may prevent welfare maximization. We model the decision process from a political economy perspective by assuming that the quantity of a paternalistic good...