The impact of fiscal decentralization on the efficiency in social housing provision: Evidence from China

Abstract

This study examines the impact mechanism of fiscal decentralization on the overall efficiency, scale efficiency, and management efficiency of social housing provision in China. We find that fiscal decentralization is negatively related to the overall efficiency and management efficiency but has no impact on scale efficiency. Further, fiscal decentralization decreases management efficiency by increasing local governments' dependence on land finance. From the point of regional heterogeneity, fiscal decentralization in the Chinese eastern region has led to a significant decrease in management efficiency while that of the middle and western regions is insignificant.