The study examines the technical, scale and size efficiency of acute hospitals in Northern Ireland over the six-year period, 1986-1992. The efficiency estimates are used to investigate whether the empirical evidence supports the subsequent current rationalisation policy for hospital provision in...

Until 1989 local government in Great Britain was financed from two major sources: central government grants, and the local property tax, known as the rates. The rates were levied on most types of property, the basis for taxation being the notional rental value of the property. Although this...