The Consequences of Centralization for Welfare Policy

way in the states is used as an independent variable to predict state welfare policy outcomes, the dependent variable. The degree to which an organization is centralized is generally defined by the concentration of decision making. A few members of the organization control the important decision making in a centralized organization, whereas in a decentralized one it is widely shared For this study, the operational definition of centralization-decentralization relies on the financing and administration of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. Of the non-federal share of welfare funding, some