지방자치단체의 재정책임성에 관한 연구

A Study on the Local Fiscal Accountability of the Local Governments in Korea

The purpose of this article is to find the degree of the local fiscal accountability by analyzing the relationship between local revenue and expenditure. Based on the correlation analysis and relative index analysis many local governments whose financial capacity in terms of their own revenue is in a low level showed a tendency of a high spending mainly due to the grants system. In an extreme situation, some of the local governments which are classified as in the bottom 10 position in terms of per capita local tax revenue jumped up into the top 10 position after various intergovernmental grants were transferred. These phenomenon clearly imply that the degree of the fiscal accountability of both local governments and their residents in Korea is relatively in low level. Considered that low degree of local fiscal accountability generally leads to the deterioration of local tax effort, fiscal equity and efficiency, a new policy is needed for the increase of the local fiscal accountability.