The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case
To date, many developing countries have continued to implement fiscally decentralized governance systems to respond to the diversified needs of local residents more effectively and to better act in line with the public interest. However, little is known about the fiscal decentralization–trust link....
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153845 |
| _version_ | 1826123276334661632 |
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| author | Kim, Soojin Lee, Yunsoo Kim, Taehee |
| author2 | School of Social Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Social Sciences Kim, Soojin Lee, Yunsoo Kim, Taehee |
| author_sort | Kim, Soojin |
| collection | NTU |
| description | To date, many developing countries have continued to implement fiscally decentralized governance systems to respond to the diversified needs of local residents more effectively and to better act in line with the public interest. However, little is known about the fiscal decentralization–trust link. Focusing empirically on the South Korean case, this study examines how financially decentralized governance might increase government trustworthiness not just at the national level, but also at the local level. The results of multilevel regression and panel data analyses partly confirm the results of pro-fiscal decentralization studies in that the growth of local fiscal autonomy is positively and significantly related to public trust in government. Specifically, we find that as fiscal decentralization improves, levels of trust in local government also rise. In addition, our findings show that in terms of having higher levels of public trust in government, the impact of revenue decentralization tends to be greater than that of expenditure decentralization. This evidence implies that allowing local governments to have their own revenue sources rather than expenditure autonomy can be a way to better respond to people’s needs in the long run. Points for practitioners: First, as fiscal decentralization improves, levels of trust in local government also rise. Second, allowing local governments to have their own revenue sources rather than expenditure autonomy can be a way to better respond to people’s needs in the long run. Third, government policies should aim to provide benefits to citizens for their own sake, such as by exercising effective delivery or improving the quality of public services and programs that are likely to be viewed positively by constituents. This could encourage citizens to engage with the current public-sector spheres in ways that affect their confidence and expectations of government policies and bureaucrats in a positive manner. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:02:01Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/153845 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:02:01Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1538452023-03-05T15:33:05Z The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case Kim, Soojin Lee, Yunsoo Kim, Taehee School of Social Sciences Social sciences::Political science Fiscal Decentralization Trust in Government To date, many developing countries have continued to implement fiscally decentralized governance systems to respond to the diversified needs of local residents more effectively and to better act in line with the public interest. However, little is known about the fiscal decentralization–trust link. Focusing empirically on the South Korean case, this study examines how financially decentralized governance might increase government trustworthiness not just at the national level, but also at the local level. The results of multilevel regression and panel data analyses partly confirm the results of pro-fiscal decentralization studies in that the growth of local fiscal autonomy is positively and significantly related to public trust in government. Specifically, we find that as fiscal decentralization improves, levels of trust in local government also rise. In addition, our findings show that in terms of having higher levels of public trust in government, the impact of revenue decentralization tends to be greater than that of expenditure decentralization. This evidence implies that allowing local governments to have their own revenue sources rather than expenditure autonomy can be a way to better respond to people’s needs in the long run. Points for practitioners: First, as fiscal decentralization improves, levels of trust in local government also rise. Second, allowing local governments to have their own revenue sources rather than expenditure autonomy can be a way to better respond to people’s needs in the long run. Third, government policies should aim to provide benefits to citizens for their own sake, such as by exercising effective delivery or improving the quality of public services and programs that are likely to be viewed positively by constituents. This could encourage citizens to engage with the current public-sector spheres in ways that affect their confidence and expectations of government policies and bureaucrats in a positive manner. Nanyang Technological University Accepted version The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF2018S1A3A2075609), as well as a start-up grant from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (No. M4081744.100). 2021-12-10T14:51:59Z 2021-12-10T14:51:59Z 2020 Journal Article Kim, S., Lee, Y. & Kim, T. (2020). The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case. International Review of Administrative Sciences. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0020852320933325 0020-8523 0000-0003-3141-8621 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153845 10.1177/0020852320933325 2-s2.0-85086599799 en M4081744.100 International Review of Administrative Sciences © 2020 The Author(s). All rights reserved. This paper was published by SAGE Publications in International Review of Administrative Sciences and is made available with permission of The Author(s). application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Social sciences::Political science Fiscal Decentralization Trust in Government Kim, Soojin Lee, Yunsoo Kim, Taehee The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case |
| title | The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case |
| title_full | The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case |
| title_short | The relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government : evidence from the South Korean case |
| title_sort | relationship between fiscal decentralization and trust in government evidence from the south korean case |
| topic | Social sciences::Political science Fiscal Decentralization Trust in Government |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153845 |
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