Measurement and Test of Government Supply Efficiency of Public Cultural Services in China

Shen Liang, Wang Yuyan

Journal of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Vol. 19, Issue 02, pp. 26 - 38 (2017)  DOI:10.16538/j.cnki.jsufe.2017.02.003

Abstract

The scientific evaluation of government expenditure performance of public cultural services is the necessary basis for the formulation of relevant policies of public cultural services and the optimization of the structure of public cultural expenditure. This paper uses the data of 31 provincial governments in China from 2001 to 2013 to conduct an econometric test, investigates the government supply efficiency of public cultural services, and then analyzes the key areas of improving current regional public cultural supply capacity. The results are shown as follows: firstly, the average efficiency losses of the supply of public cultural services at the provincial level is 23%; secondly, according to the efficiency values of the provinces, there are three types of high, medium and low regions, and factors affecting government supply efficiency in different regions are different; lastly, in general, larger government size leads to lower efficiency, higher degree of fiscal decentralization higher efficiency, and higher proportion of cultural expenses lower efficiency, while the effect of the level of economic development on government supply efficiency is very weak. Accordingly, at the same time of promoting public culture services equalization, the regions should reduce government size, optimize fiscal expenditure structure, deepen fiscal and tax reform, improve the government executive power and so on, based on their own circumstances. But more importantly, the public cultural services should be open to the majority of the public, ensuring public cultural rights and needs of the majority.

Keywords

public cultural services; public culture spending; supply efficiency; efficiency loss; finance