政府竞争和转移支付对区际公共服务不均等的影响

Impact of Government Competition and Financial Transfer Payment on Interregional Public Service Inequality

运用广义熵指数测度了2007—2016年我国省级地区间公共服务的不均等程度。结果显示:当前区际公共服务供给表现出较为显著的不均等特征,但不均等程度呈平稳下降趋势。区域子样本分解结果显示,平均50%以上的总体不均等来源于组间。在此基础上,考察了政府竞争和转移支付对区际公共服务不均等的潜在影响。研究表明:地方政府的政府竞争加剧了区际公共服务不均等,而引入转移支付可成为平抑区际财政能力差距和治理地方政府行为的有效工具,具有显著的公共服务均等化效应。最后指出,需要在现有分权体制下建立均等与激励兼容的转移支付机制。

This paper uses the generalized entropy index to measure the inequality of public service among provinces in China from 2007 to 2016.The results show that the supply of public service presents a more significant inequality,but the overall inequality is declining.Over 50% of the overall inequality comes from inter-group.On this basis,it studies the potential impact of government competition and financial transfer payment on the inequality of public service supply.It finds that the government competition expands the inequality of public service supply,and the financial transfer payment instrument can be an effective mechanism to narrow the gap between regions and govern the local government’s competitive behavior,so as to improve the equalization effect of public service.Finally,it points out that it is necessary to establish an equal and incentive transfer payment mechanism under current decentralization system.