Empirical Studies on Strategic: Interaction among Local Governments over the Provision of Nursery Facilities: A Comparison of the Kanto and Kansai Regions

Abstract

　The provision of nursery facilities by local governments is a critical issue in Japan these days. In this paper, we examine the determinants of the provision policies of local governments in 2012 and 2013, when there were significant systemic institutional changes related to the provision of nursery facilities.

　We empirically test strategic interaction over provision policies of nursery facilities. After addressing several issues related to examining strategic interaction among governments, we find significant evidence of the interaction. In other words, different interactions were observed between the Kanto and Kansai regions in terms of public and private nursery facility provision rates, and provision policies in the 2010s appear to have been influenced by this strategic behavior.