Studies on the effects of local government mergers on growth

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K01697
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 07050:Public economics and labor economics-related
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Miyazaki Takeshi 九州大学, 経済学研究院, 教授 (40458485)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 財政分権化 / 市町村合併 / 成長 / 人口 / 地方公共財 / 経済理論

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines empirically whether municipal mergers lead to population growth on the basis of economics and theoretical models. The theoretical analysis finds that people tend to move to localities that provide more productive public goods and public goods providing them with larger merits. Empirically, the following results are obtained. First, with a focus on merger impacts, per capita income positively affects inter-municipal net migration. Second, for merged municipalities, larger amount of spending on welfare and public assistance decreases net migration, whereas spending on youth education increases migration. Third, for merged municipalities, young people positively respond to spending on youth education but do not respond to spending on welfare and public assistance and productive public goods. Older people do not respond to youth education expenses but adversely respond to expenses for productive goods.

Free Research Field

財政、地方財政

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

初めて経済学の手法に基づいて合併が地域の成長に与える影響を分析する点で、学術的に意義のある研究である。合併の費用削減効果など合併が及ぼす影響について様々な研究が行われてきたが、合併が成長に繋がるのかは合併の成否を判断するうえで重要な点であるにもかかわらず、これまで経済学の手法を用いた研究が行われてこなかった。人口構成や産業別従業者数・事業所数などの詳細なデータを用いて、合併が人口や経済活動に影響を与える要因についても明らかにする。合併が人口動態や産業構造に及ぼす影響とその要因を明らかにする点で、実務上も有益な情報を提供するとともに実際の政策形成にも役立ち得る研究である。