Does Broader-Based Local Government affect Expenditure on Public Long-Term Care Insurance? The Case of Japan

Abstract

This paper considers the possible effects of broader-based local government, especially extended associations, in Japanese local public finance. We mainly analyze scale effects in public long-term care insurance expenditure, with our results indicating a U shaped expenditure structure. We also show that expenditures associated with extended associations decrease more rapidly than ordinary municipal expenditures. These findings suggest that expenditure of appropriate population size extended associations larger than single municipality.local public finance, scale effects, broader-based local government, extended association, long-term care insurance