Inland provinces ‘suffer funding shortfall’
China’s inland provinces are suffering serious funding shortfalls because of administrative problems and big regional variations in public spending, according to a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Margit Molnar, the author of a 100-page OECD report on China’s public spending, said there was a worrying disparity between government spending patterns and the dire need for social services in inland provinces, especially Anhui and Henan.
The booming city of Shanghai, for example, has had around 10 times as much accumulated capital expenditures as poverty-stricken Henan, she said.
“That is the single most surprising factor [of the research findings],” said Charles Pigott, a former OECD economist who helped with the study, which included visits to six localities. ”They are moving to do something about it, and they realise the problem.”
Mr Pigott said central China was most desperate for funds, replacing the west as the worst-off region. He said the central government’s “Go West” and north-east revitalisation programmes, launched in the previous five-year period, had injected much-needed funds into those two areas.
The OECD economists say that while Beijing is now committed to allocating more funds to local governments to improve health, education and science, growth in spending has slowed in recent years and spending is still very low by international standards.
China’s spending on such areas as health, education, culture and science has hovered at about 5.5 per cent of total gross domestic product in recent years, the OECD estimates, compared with an average of more than 28 per cent for member countries.
The OECD found that China’s reported spending figures reflected only about three-quarters of government spending because some spending and bond financing of local projects was outside the official budget. Local governments in China often levy unofficial fees to make up for gaps in funding.
“China’s uneven fiscal decentralisation has been an important impediment to the effectiveness of its public spending,” the report says.
The OECD is recommending that Beijing should bring off-budget spending into the official figures, improve transparency and accounting, and make local officials more accountable, with specific performance benchmarks.
“中国内陆省份资金严重短缺”
经
济合作与发展组织(OECD，简称：经合组织)的一项调查显示，由于行政问题及在公共支出方面的巨大地区差异，中国内陆省份正面临严重的资金短缺。
在经合组织一份长100页的有关中国公共支出的报告中，作者玛吉特?莫尔纳(Margit Molnar)表示，中国内陆省份（特别是安徽和河南）对社会服务的庞大需求与政府支出格局之间，存在着令人担忧的差距。
她表示，以繁华城市上海和贫穷省份河南为例，上海市的累计资本支出约为河南省的10倍。
“这是（调查结果中）最令人吃惊的一点，”帮助进行上述调查的原经合组织经济学家查尔斯?皮戈特(Charles Pigott)表示，“中国政府将就此采取措施，他们已经意识到这一问题。”该调查包括对6个地方进行走访。
皮戈特表示，中国中部对资金的需求最为强烈，取代西部成为中国最贫穷的地区。他表示，中国中央政府在过去5年中推行的“西部大开发”战略以及振兴东北规划，已向两地注入许多急需资金。
经合组织经济学家表示，虽然中国政府正致力于向地方政府划拨更多资金，以促进医疗、教育和科技发展，但近年来，支出增幅有所放缓，而且以国际标准而论，支出水平仍然很低。
经合组织估计，近些年，中国在医疗、教育、文化和科研等领域的支出一直徘徊在国内生产总值(GDP)的5.5%左右。相比之下，经合组织成员国平均比例超过28%。
经合组织发现，中国公布的支出数字仅反映出四分之三左右的政府支出，因为一些地方项目支出和债券融资不在官方预算数字之内。中国地方政府经常通过非正式收费弥补资金缺口。
该报告指出：“中国不均衡的财政分权已经成为公共开支发挥效力的重要阻碍。”
经合组织建议中国政府将预算外开支纳入官方预算数字，提高透明度，改善会计标准，同时制定具体的考核准则，使地方官员更加负责。
