Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/224996 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Citation: 
[Journal:] Regional Studies [ISSN:] 1360-0591 [Volume:] 54 [Issue:] 3 [Publisher:] Routledge [Place:] London [Year:] 2020 [Pages:] 340-351
Publisher: 
Routledge, London
Abstract: 
Spatial inequalities in publicly provided goods such as healthcare facilities have substantial socioeconomic effects. Little is known, however, about why publicly provided goods diverge among urban and rural regions. This study exploits narrow parliamentary majorities in German states between 1950 and 2014 in a regression discontinuity (RD) framework to show that government ideology influences the urban–rural gap in public infrastructure. Left-wing governments relocate hospital beds from rural regions. It is proposed that left-wing governments do so to gratify their more urban constituencies. In turn, spatial inequalities in hospital infrastructure increase, which seems to influence general and infant mortality.
Subjects: 
publicly provided goods
spatial inequalities
political business cycles
government ideology
healthcare
hospitals
JEL: 
D72
H42
I18
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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