Abstract
Decentralization of home care is often presented as a means of increasing efficiency and quality. Little is known about the redistributive effects of the decentralization within local contexts, and about inequalities within municipalities after decentralization. Based on social and cultural capital theories, we hypothesize an increase in socio-economic inequality after decentralization, the more so if care is scarce. We test these hypotheses using data on the decentralization of housekeeping care in the Netherlands in 2007. The Longitudinal Aging Survery Amsterdam (lasa-vu) is enriched with municipal data on the availability of home care. In multilevel analyses we compare the use of formal care in 5,689 cases before and after 2007, given their need, income and education, informal care, and formal personal care. Findings show that low status respondents have a higher probability of receiving household care following the decentralization.