地方政府合作提供外溢性公共品的机制分析——基于决策权分配的视角

Analysis of Mechanisms for Local Government Cooperation in Providing Spillover Public Goods——A Perspective Based on the Distribution of Decision-making Power

本文从外溢性公共品提供的角度讨论了地方政府合作和谈判问题。在分析地方政府通过协商和谈判两种合作模式对外溢性公共品提供效率和社会福利的影响基础上,本文认为外溢性公共品项目决策权的归属问题是影响合作效率的一个主要因素。进一步根据数学模型的分析可知:(1)两个地区之间通过协商方式来解决外溢性公共品的提供时,虽然可以达到社会最优的项目规模,但是项目的投资规模永远低于社会最优的投资规模。(2)两个地区之间通过谈判方式来解决外溢性公共品的提供时,应由提供外溢性公共品的一方掌握更多的决策权,使其有动力最大化自身的社会福利,进而实现社会整体福利的最优化。(3)本文还考察了央地之间专项转移支付对改善公共品提供效率的影响。专项转移支付需要更多央地信息传递和沟通机制的配合,大大增加了央地之间的交易成本。利用决策权分配来激发地方政府之间的合作,进而提高外溢性公共品的提供效率可能是一种在现实中更容易实现的方式。本文的研究对于推动地方合作、提高外溢性公共品的供给效率具有积极作用。

This paper discusses the issue of local government cooperation and negotiation from the perspective of spillover public goods provision.We examine the impact of two modes of cooperation between local governments through consultation and negotiation on the efficiency of spillover public goods provision and social welfare,and then argue that the issue of ownership of decision-making power over spillover public goods projects is a major factor affecting the efficiency of cooperation.According to the analysis of the mathematical model,it can be seen that:(1)although the provision of spillover public goods can be resolved by consultation between two regions to meet the socially optimal project scale,the investment scale of the project will always be lower than the socially optimal investment scale.(2)When the provision of spillover public goods is settled by negotiation between two regions,the party that provides the spillover public goods should be given more decision-making power.In this way,the stakeholder providing the spillover public good has an incentive to maximise its own social welfare,thereby optimising the welfare of society as a whole.(3)We also examine the impact of earmarked transfers between the central government and the local government on improving the efficiency of public goods provision.Earmarked transfers may require additional central and local information transfer and communication mechanisms,significantly increasing the transaction costs between central and local governments.Using the allocation of decision-making power to stimulate cooperation between local governments and thus improve the efficiency of spillover public provision may be a more realistic way to achieve this.The research in this paper has some policy implications for promoting local cooperation to improve the supply efficiency of spillover public goods.