撤县设区、城市规模扩张与基本公共服务配置

City-county Merger,Urban Expansion and Allocation of Basic Public Services

基于中国撤县设区改革,研究经济导向的中国行政型城市规模扩张对基础教育、医疗卫生服务的配置效应。理论分析表明,撤县设区改革会对基本公共服务配置产生量与质的不同影响:基本公共服务数量会有所减少,但质量会有所提升。基于2000—2007年撤县设区改革实践和双重差分模型的实证研究结果表明,撤县设区改革后,城市基础教育学校数(尤其是普通小学学校数)和医院、卫生院机构数都有显著减少,但以专任教师数、生师比和卫生机构床位数表征的质量变量则有所提升。基于2000—2006年财政支出数据的实证检验结果表明,撤县设区改革引致地级市政府和被撤并县政府财政支出上的分工与协调,地级市政府增加了医疗卫生支出,被撤并县政府则增加了教育支出。

Based on the reform of city-county merger in China,this paper explores the allocation effect of Chinese economically-oriented administrative urban expansion on basic education and medical and health services.Theoretical analysis shows that the reform of city-county merger would have different effects on the allocation of basic public services’ quantity and quality.The quantity would be reduced,but the quality would be improved.Using the practice of the city-county merger during 2000-2007 and the difference-in-difference model,the empirical results show that the number of urban basic education schools(especially the number of ordinary primary schools) and the number of hospitals and health centers had decreased significantly,but the quality variables characterized by the number of full-time teachers,student-teacher ratio and the number of beds in health institutions had increased.The empirical results based on the fiscal expenditure data from 2000 to 2006 show that the reform of city-county merger had caused the division and coordination of fiscal expenditures between the prefecture-level city governments and governments of the merged counties.The prefecture-level city governments had increased their medical and health expenditures,while the governments of the merged counties had increased their education expenditures.