Why is the main body of public service the government?

In the process of providing public services, the government is the decisive factor. Public expenditure accounts for a large proportion of government expenditure in Nordic countries. This is in sharp contrast with China's current fiscal expenditure structure.

(1) The proportion of government expenditure in GDP is increasing year by year. Olafa Firth, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Urban and Regional Studies, pointed out that the total expenditure of the Norwegian government rose from 27% of GDP in the 1950s to 54% in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the beginning of the 20th century, Norwegian government consumption accounted for about 6% of the gross national product, and rose to 10% in 1950s. After the 1980s, government consumption accounted for 1/5 of the gross national product.

(2) The proportion of public financial expenditure is increasing. While the proportion of government expenditure in GDP is increasing, the proportion of public expenditure in government expenditure in Nordic countries is also increasing. Olafa Firth pointed out that in 1995, workers' benefits paid by Norway in the form of transfer payment,

Pension and its financial support to families account for 65% of government expenditure. Other Nordic experts also stressed that the basic feature of the Nordic model is that public expenditure accounts for a high proportion of government expenditure.

(3) Improve the working environment in the public sector and raise the salaries of public sector workers. Nordic experts pointed out that due to its own characteristics, the public service sector needs government support to ensure fair, reasonable and effective redistribution. The government must ensure that wages in the public sector are not too low. Former Swedish Minister of Justice and Immigration Gredin pointed out that if the salary of the public sector is lower than that of private enterprises, the public sector will be unable to retain talents, the quality of service will be affected, and the quality of education, medical care and other social services received by citizens will also decline.

Nordic countries give full play to the role of governments at all levels in providing public services, clearly divide the responsibilities of governments at all levels in providing public services, and also explore an effective way for the central government to manage local governments.

(1) The division of labor between the central government and local governments in Norway is very clear. The municipal government is mainly responsible for labor-intensive services, and the central government is mainly responsible for collective services such as income redistribution. In general, about 70% of workers' benefits and 75% of employees' wages in the public sector are paid by local governments; Administration, national defense, pension, etc. The central government expenditure accounts for the vast majority. Therefore, the implementers of welfare policies are mainly local governments.

(2) The division of financial power and administrative power between Swedish central and local governments. Sward introduced the division of financial power and administrative power between Swedish central and local governments. Local governments include county and city levels. These two levels of government are subordinate to the central government, but there is no superior-subordinate relationship and they are equal.

The Swedish central government is responsible for insurance and transfer payments, and the unemployment, sickness insurance and pension systems are decided by the central government. Swedish local government has a high degree of autonomy, and its main task is to provide citizens with low-cost and convenient public services as equally as possible. The main tasks of local government public services include medical care, services for the elderly, services for the disabled and children. The county government is mainly responsible for medical and health care services; The municipal government is mainly responsible for the education of young people under 18, services for children and the elderly, social welfare, care for the disabled, local construction and planning, water resources utilization and irrigation and drainage, street cleaning, garbage disposal and rescue services. Transportation services are shared by counties and cities.

Due to many responsibilities of local governments, most of Sweden's public expenditure is in local governments. At present, the expenditure of county and city governments accounts for about 2/3 of government expenditure. As they undertake most public service functions, local governments have corresponding financial rights. Local governments can decide their own tax standards and budgets. The central government will not interfere with the budgets of local governments, but only demand a balanced budget allocation.

(3) The central government's support and supervision of local public services. Odrou, a researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Urban and Regional Development, pointed out that the central government entrusts some public services to local governments, gives them great rights, and uses effective control tools to support and supervise local governments to effectively provide public services.

First, the overall goal licensing plan. The demand for income and expenditure varies greatly among cities. There are three sources of municipal revenue: taxes, central government grants and special service fees. In order to ensure the equalization of public services in different places, the central government balances the tax differences of different local governments due to the differences in geographical conditions, social conditions and democratic levels through the general target licensing plan and transfer payment. This plan was implemented in 1986, and its core is the actual expenditure compensation mechanism, which is based on the objective standard (expenditure equalization) and subsidizes according to the needs of counties and cities.

Second, the environmental impact assessment system. While the central government controls local governments through transfer payment management, it also restricts local governments through environmental measures and requires local governments to evaluate the environmental impact of policies. The environmental impact assessment system constrains local governments to prevent and control environmental pollution from the source.