ABSTRACT

Local government in England has experienced significant financial volatility in recent years due to cuts in central government funding and increased demand for service provision. Using a panel data set of English local governments over the period 2005–2016, this study investigates the impact of demographic factors on the financial reserves held by different types of English local governments. Dissimilar effects are traced on local governments’ saving capability of different grant funding mechanisms and whether local governments are involved in social care provision, and how they provide these services. Findings show that local governments actively act upon financial uncertainty by expanding their reserves through implementing changes in both their income and expenditure structures, including revenue generation through alternative sources such as capital investment. The potential, however, to expand reserves differs significantly between local governments and has reduced due to growing demand for social care services.

摘要

近年来，由于中央政府的资金削减和对服务提供的需求增加，英格兰的地方政府经历了重大的财务动荡。本研究使用2005-2016年英国地方政府的面板数据集，调查了人口统计学因素对不同类型的英国地方政府持有的财政储备的影响。地方政府对不同赠款机制的储蓄能力，地方政府是否参与社会护理提供以及它们如何提供这些服务，都产生了不同的影响。调查结果表明，地方政府通过改变收入和支出结构来扩大储备金，从而积极应对财务不确定性，包括通过资本投资等替代来源创收。但是，地方政府之间扩大储备的潜力大不相同，并且由于对社会护理服务的需求不断增加，这种潜力已经降低。