Governmental Spending on Public Cultural Services: Efficiency and Influencing Factors Analysis Based on DEA-Tobit

Bin Tu,Xiangyu Tao,Nian’En Guo

doi:10.4236/jssm.2017.103019

Abstract

Based on the panel data of provinces in China from 2000 to 2015, this article explores the efficiency of local government spending on public cultural services and its influencing factors under the DEA-Tobit two-stage analysis framework. First, the comprehensive efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale technical efficiency of local government public cultural expenditure were measured through the data envelopment analysis method (DEA). On the basis of the first step analysis, we use Tobit model with the limited dependent variable to study the relationship between the efficiency evaluation results and policy variable such as fiscal decentralization, cultural policy, the relationship between the efficiency evaluation results and social factors like per capita GDP, population density and residents’ educational level etc. Through the analysis of the evaluation results, it is found that there were significant differences in the local efficiency on public cultural expenditure in China. The effects of population density, urbanization level, per capita GDP and illiteracy rate on the efficiency of government public cultural expenditure are positive. After controlling population, economic and social factors, the effect of fiscal decentralization on the efficiency of public cultural expenditure is negative, and cultural policy has significantly promoted the efficiency of Chinese local government cultural expenditure.

Highlights

On the basis of the first step analysis, we use Tobit model with the limited dependent variable to study the relationship between the efficiency evaluation results and policy variable such as fiscal decentralization, cultural policy, the relationship between the efficiency evaluation results and social factors like per capita GDP, population density and residents’ educational level etc
The results show that, from the horizontal perspective, there is a significant regional difference in China’s public cultural expenditure efficiency, and the efficiency of local public cultural expenditure in the western region is higher than the eastern and central regions, while from the perspective of longitudinal time series, the average overall technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale technical efficiency of the 30 provinces show an increasing trend on the whole
Based on the evaluation results of overall efficiency of public cultural expenditures obtained by accounting, the random effect Tobit regression model is further used to analyze the factors affecting the differences between the public cultural expenditure efficiency of the provincial governments, and the following conclusion which is drawn: per capita GDP, urbanization level, population density and educational level all have positive effect on the efficiency of public cultural expenditures

Summary

Introduction

The essence of public cultural services is, in the citizen, to form identity on positive value orientation and noble spiritual pursuit which can shape people’s good behavior, and maintain social stability at the end. All of these functions are predicated on government spending sustainability and require a high spending efficiency strong and understanding of the factors that affect spending efficiency. In order to improve the efficiency on the use of cultural financial subsidies the funds general input should gradually turn to project-oriented from cultural institutions-oriented, the government procurement system need to be gradually established and improved.

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion