The national financial adjustment policy and the equalisation of health levels among prefectures

摘要

Study objectives—The objectives of this study were to examine (1) trends concern- ing financial assistance from the national government to local governments, (2) trends regarding death rates and life expectancies among prefectures, and (3) the effect of the national financial adjust- ment policy in equalising both the rev- enues of local governments and variations in the health levels among prefectures in terms of death rates and life expectancies.