Paying for Health, Education, and Housing: How Does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings?

England is unusual in relying so heavily on central government to finance its social services. Citizens expect to be able to access services of similar standards wherever they live. This raises difficult theoretical and practical issues. This book reviews the economic theory that underpins thinking about such issues. It then traces the way governments have distributed resources from the end of the last century until today. It critically analyses current methods for three services—the National Health Service, schools, and housing.