道府県から市町村への権限移譲と財政的地方政府間関係 <論文>

2000年の地方自治法改正に伴い、都道府県から市町村に対して条例による事務処理特例、つまり権限 移譲が進められている。権限移譲に伴う交付金は、都道府県から市町村への権限移譲の状況を端的にあらわしている。今回の研究によると、道府県から市町村への権限移譲交付金は、2008年度に総額約76億円、1府県あたりでは1.7億円程度である(東京都、福井県、和歌山県を除く)。市町村合併が進展し、道府県・市町村の「純歳出比でみた小さな道府県」では、人口あたり交付金が全般に多く、権限移譲に積極的である。権限移譲に積極的であるかどうかは、当該道府県と市町村の財政力にも依存している。今後、基礎自治体の役割がますます重要になるなかで、地方財政の逼迫は、道府県から市町村への円滑な権限と財源の移譲にとって障碍となることが懸念される。

With the revision of Local Autonomy Act in 2000, it became to be possible to transfer administrative works of prefectures into municipalities. The grants for devolution accompany such transfer. They represent the degree of devolution from prefectures into municipalities. According to our research on 44 prefectures out of 47, the grants for devolution amount to 7.6 billion yen in total, 170 million yen a prefecture.

This paper intends to analyze the influences of the transfer on fiscal relationships between local governments. Although the amount of the grants is very small compared with the total public expenditure, we could find out some interesting points.

It is "the smaller prefectures" in the ratio of prefecture net expenditure to municipal one that are positive in devolution. Tendency to transfer administrative works depends on the degree of the merger of municipalities in 2000's. The prefectures where it has progressed are smaller in the ratio of prefecture net expenditure to municipal one and have tendency to transfer their works to municipalities.

The public finances are generally sound not only of the prefectures which are positive in devolution but also of the municipalities which belong to such prefectures. But this would implicate that (1) the harder the public finance, the less the devolution from prefectures to municipalities, (2) the devolution would mark time as the merger of municipalities has come to almost the end of the present stage.