数字化转型下的人大预算监督与政府支出效率——基于信息不对称视角的分析

Budget Supervision of the People's Congress and Government Expenditure Efficiency Under Digital Transformation:An Analysis from the Perspective of Information Asymmetry

通过信息联通来缓解立法机关预算监督过程中的信息不对称是数字时代推进预算治理改革的重要举措。本文借助中国预算联网监督的“准自然实验”,采用2012~2019年275个地级市的宏观数据,实证检验了强化信息不对称治理对改善预算监督效能、推动财政政策落地的影响。研究发现:(1)人大预算监督中信息不对称的缓解显著提升了政府整体支出效率;(2)信息不对称缓解有助于减少预算资金的违规使用,提高预算执行合规性;有助于加快预算执行进度、减少“年底突击花钱”等低效无序使用资金的情况,提高预算执行时效性,这是驱动政府支出效率改善的重要机制;(3)在预算联网监督实现省、市“纵向贯通”的地区,以及公众外部监督更为薄弱、财政压力更大、人大监督专业能力更强的地区,人大联网监督发挥的预算治理作用更大;(4)通过信息联通来提升政府支出效率有助于“减税降费”政策的落地生效,使辖区企业享受到更多的税费优惠。本文的研究为助力预算监督数字化转型,更好推动“向效率要政策空间”的财政改革提供了重要的理论依据和实践参考。

Mitigating information asymmetry in the process of budget monitoring by the legislature through information connectivity is an important initiative to promote budget governance reform in the digital era.This paper utilizes the"quasi-natural experiment"of China's budget online supervision program and empirically examines the impact of mitigating information asymmetry on improving the local people's congresses'budget supervision and government expenditure efficiency using macro data from 275 prefecture-level cities from 2012 to 2019.The findings are as follows.(1)The alleviation of information asymmetry in the budget supervision significantly improves the government's overall expenditure efficiency.(2)The alleviation of information asymmetry helps to reduce the unauthorized use of budgetary funds and improve the compliance of budget execution.It helps to accelerate the progress of budget execution,reduce the inefficient and disorderly use of funds,such as"end-of-the-year surprise spending",improve the timeliness of budget execution,and improve the efficiency of budget execution.(3)The effects of this budget online supervision program are more pronounced in regions where budget information is interconnected among provinces and cities,as well as in areas with weaker external public oversight,greater fiscal pressures,and stronger LPC supervisory capabilities.(4)Expanded analysis also finds that improving local people's congresses'budget supervision and enhancing government expenditure efficiency through information connectivity help the"tax and fee reduction"policy to take effect.Therefore,enterprises in the jurisdictions enjoy more tax incentives.This paper provides an important theoretical basis and practical reference for deepening the digital reform of budget supervision and better promoting the improvement of modern budget system.