Equal access to childcare services is a key concern of childcare policy. This article analyses social inequalities in the availability of such services. We explore how observed disparities are related to the socio-economic status of neighbourhoods and investigate how different provider types...

After earlier waves of privatization, local governments have increasingly taken back control of local service provisions in some sectors and countries and, instead, started providing those services themselves (reverse privatization). Using a unique panel data set on the mode of service provision...

This paper presents an empirical verification of the demand price elasticity for piped water in major cities in Poland - it was the main goal of the research. The information concerning the demand reaction to price changes is substantial for sustainable urban water demand. Any prediction of...

Understanding the relation between different types of long-term care and the determinants of individual choice of long-term care types is fundamental for efficient policy making in times of ageing societies. However, empirical research on this issue has revealed both national and methodological...

The growing demand for plasma, especially for the manufacture of therapeutic products, creates an urgent need for a careful discussion on the relative merits of different procurement and allocation systems in a way that addresses the increasing demand while abiding by the prevailing moral values...

There has been a phenomenal global increase in the proportion of women in politics in the last two decades, but there is no evidence of how this influences economic performance. We investigate this using data on competitive elections to India's state assemblies, leveraging close elections to...

In Sweden, a trust-based system of school performance evaluation meets a market-oriented school system with liberal entry conditions for voucher-funded private providers. National standardized tests are graded at the local school and what ultimately matters to students are teacher-set grades....

The Swedish school system suffers from profound problems with teacher recruitment and retention, knowledge decline, and grade inflation. Absenteeism is high, and psychiatric disorders have risen sharply among Swedish pupils in the last ten years. In this pioneering analysis of the consequences...

After joining the European Union in 2004, the post-communist countries have dramatically changed their structure of expenditure for medical services. The cause of this is legislative and ownership changes in the new economy. The study analyzed the expenditure on medical services in the European...

We discuss the ongoing liberalization process in the market for addressed letter mail in Switzerland. The paper assesses the impact of the liberalization on the financial viability of various universal service obligations with and without access to the incumbent's downstream delivery network for...