Should a social program be run at a higher or lower level of government? We consider a government-run program supplying a private good to consumers. We focus on a tradeoff between the advantage of a high level of government in resource allocation and its disadvantage in consumer information. We look into the effect of differences in income levels, marginal costs, and preferences on the organization of public governance. One general conclusion is that when regional differences are large, the central government should be in charge; otherwise, local governments should be in charge.

中文翻译：

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公共治理的层次结构：资源配置与官僚低效

社会计划应该由更高还是更低级别的政府来运作？我们考虑一个政府运行的项目，向消费者提供私人物品。我们关注的是高层政府在资源配置方面的优势与消费者信息方面的劣势之间的权衡。我们研究收入水平、边际成本和偏好的差​​异对公共治理组织的影响。一个普遍的结论是，地区差异较大时，应由中央政府负责；地区差异较大时，应由中央政府负责；地区差异较大时，应由中央政府负责。否则，地方政府应负责。