‘Let the Mental Hospitals Close…’

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Abstract
This paper considers theories of social policy implementation in the light of an empirical study of psychiatric hospital closure. Five ideal types of local state are hypothesised, ranged along a continuum of discretion. At one end of the continuum are those authorities whose policies and organisational structures are determined by the ‘centre’. At the other are those able to make discrete policies and to develop organisational structures to implement them. It is argued that the degree to which authorities can achieve ‘closure’ objectives such as devolution of services, or integration of clients into communities, depends on their closeness of fit to particular ideal types. The implications of this theory for policy making are discussed.

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