This study began with questions about the relationship between decentralization and welfare expenditure of countries in the post-industrial society. As mentioned above, since the 1970s, major developed countries experienced the so-called 'reorganizati...
This study began with questions about the relationship between decentralization and welfare expenditure of countries in the post-industrial society. As mentioned above, since the 1970s, major developed countries experienced the so-called 'reorganization of the welfare state' in the background of the central government's financial pressures and new social risk. One of the countermeasures against this is the decentralization, the expansion of the responsibilities and roles of local governments. This tendency can change the universality of social security that the centralized welfare state has been aiming for. In this sense, the relationship between decentralization and welfare expenditure has been studied through many studies. At the same time, however, there has been a limit to the fact that studies on decentralization have been regarded as a monopoly, or that empirical analysis results have not been adequately matched to the relationship between decentralization and welfare expenditure. In order to understand the impact of decentralization on welfare expenditure patterns, this study explores whether decentralization has reduced welfare or expanded responses to new social risks.
First, the hypothesis on the level of fiscal decentralization and national welfare expenditure is set up to grasp the level of welfare expenditure. It is related to the political factors influencing welfare expenditure, financial pressures due to debt, Based on theoretical discussions. In order to examine the effects of fiscal decentralization on the composition of welfare expenditure, attention was paid to the relationship between financial decentralization and social service expenditure. It was found that administrative efficiency based on social service characteristics, The second hypothesis was derived from the discussion of welfare expansion based on welfare magnets.
The data used to verify the above hypothesis were combined data for the period from 1997 to 2013 in 19 OECD countries, and the analysis method was time series analysis using FGLS and PCSE.
The results of analysis were as follows. First, as the level of fiscal decentralization increases, the national welfare expenditure decreases. In this study, the level of fiscal decentralization was measured as the revenue of the province versus the total revenue. Welfare expenditure was measured as welfare expenditure as a percentage of GDP. In both the combined time-series analyzes, the increase in fiscal decentralization was found to reduce welfare expenditure. Second, as the level of fiscal decentralization increases, social service expenditure increases. This study considers social service expenditure as a measure to cope with new social risks and measured social service expenditure ratio to welfare expenditure. As a result, the increase in the level of decentralization has been confirmed to increase social service expenditure.
The result of the study have the implication as follows. First, this study shows different changes in the social welfare state of post-industrialism described as 'reduction' or 'crisis' of welfare state. Second, this study analyzed the effects of decentralization on welfare expenditure and social services expenditure in OECD countries. This suggests that the decentralization of the welfare sector has various meanings in the Korean society, which is the center of controversy.
However, despite this implication, this study has the following limitations. First, the decentralization, welfare expenditure and service expenditure manipulated in this study are not completely consistent with the theoretical argument that they want to represent. Second, as a limitation of the analytical method, the combined time-series regression analysis can not completely explain the results of the analysis in terms of time-based effects or spatial effects. Finally, there is a limit to the fact that we can not cover all of the discussions that we have discussed in this study. Further research is needed on these points.