title: Explaining local authority choices on public hospital provision in the 1930s: a public policy hypothesis.
abstract: This article summarises the findings of recent work on local authority public hospital services in England and Wales in the inter-war years and identifies the lack of a robust hypothesis to explain the variations found, particularly one that would explain the actions of county councils as well as county boroughs. Using public policy techniques on a group of local authorities in the far South West it proposes that variations can be explained by an understanding of the deep core beliefs of councillors, their previous experience of 'commissioner' and 'provider' roles, and the availability or otherwise of a dedicated policy entrepreneur to promote change.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Medical History, College of Humanities, Amory Building, Rennes Drive, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK. j.neville@exeter.ac.uk
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neville
mesh_terms: D004739:England; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000266:history*; D009111:Local Government / Q000266:history*; D011057:Politics; D011640:Public Policy / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends; D014852:Wales
keywords: 1930s; Advocacy Coalition Framework; Beliefs; Councillors; Entrepreneurs; Hospitals; Local Government; Medical Officers of Health; Public Health