均等化视角下的地区间公共服务提供成本差异评估研究

Study on Evaluating Regional Cost Difference of Public Service Delivery Based on Equalization Perspective

基于公共服务提供成本差异主要源于客观环境差异的假设,将评估思路集中于对地区间环境差异水平的分析,建立了相应的评价指标体系并进行因子分析,以考察影响地区间公共服务提供成本差异的环境因素。在此基础上,通过聚类分析阐明各地区在提供公共服务过程中的成本优势及劣势。判别分析结果显示,按现行的需求成本指标所产生的评价结果与按环境因素评价的吻合程度仅为33.4%。这种成本差异评估方式反映了当前均衡性转移支付主要考虑的是部门支出需求,而非公共支出需求;并且某一类转移支付过度承担其他政策性功能。

Assuming that the cost of public service delivery is critically affected by the external objective environment, this paper concentrates on the evaluation of differences of physical and socioeconomic environments among regions. Correspondingly, an indicator system is established to examine environmental factors giving rise to provincial cost variance of public service deliver- y. On that basis, the efforts are made by virtue of cluster analysis to clarify both cost advantages and disadvantages faced by local governments in the process of providing public services. Further, discriminant analysis results based on environmental factors and current cost indicators respectively find that the consistent degree is only 33.4% between the two evaluation results; while the former evaluation mode reveals that the main concern of China＇s general transfer is still the expenditure needs of government sec- tors, not of the public. In addition, the current design of allocation mechanism reflects general transfer is overly responsible for other policy functions beyond fiscal equalization.