The thesis consists of an introductory part and three self-contained papers. Paper [I] studies the determinants of the differences in expenditure on services for functionally impaired individuals among municipalities in Sweden. A spatial autoregressive model is used in order to test whether the decisions on the expenditure level in a neighboring municipality affect the municipality’s own expenditure. The results show of spatial interaction among neighbors, possible due to mimicking. However, when controlling for differences among counties there is no evidence of spatial interaction. Therefore, the positive interaction first found can be interpreted either as a result of differences in the way county councils diagnose individuals or due to interaction among the neighbors in the same county. Paper [II] takes advantage of a new intergovernmental grant in two ways. First, the grant is used to study the effect on municipal spending related to the grant. Second, the grant is used to test a hypothesis of spatial interaction among municipalities due to mimicking behavior. The data used pertains to the periods before and after the introduction of the grant. A fixed-effects spatial lag model is used to study the spatial interactions among municipalities. The results show that before the grant, municipalities interact with their neighbors when setting the expenditure level, while there is no evidence of interaction in the second period. This would support the hypothesis that the grants provide information to the municipalities and the need for mimicking diminishes with the grant. Paper [III] examines whether local public expenditures on services to functionally impaired individuals crowd out other local public expenditures in Sweden. The hypothesis is tested on five different spending areas using a two-stage least squares (2SLS) fixed-effects model. While the results give no support for crowding out in the areas of social assistance, culture & leisure, and childcare & preschool, a negative relationship on spending for elderly & disabled care and on spending for education is found, suggesting that crowding out indeed occurs within the municipal sector. The negative relationships are significant both in a statistical and an economic sense.

This thesis consists of five papers, which concern expenditure decisions and economic growth within Swedish local government.Paper [1] explores the hypothesis that local fiscal shocks have short run effects on revenue and expenditure decisions made within local government. It is found that although fiscal shocks do not affect local authorities' revenue decisions, they do induce municipalities to change expenditures and financial costs along with short term loans. Local authorities are also found to respond more powerful to unfavorable fiscal shocks (deficit shocks) than to favorable fiscal shocks (surplus shocks).In Paper [2], we study the hypothesis that local (municipal) expenditures, in part, can be explained by regional (county) expenditures. We formulate and estimate a demand model for municipal services that is defined conditional on the county expenditures. The results imply a positive dependency between the provision of county and municipal services. Moreover, the results suggest that the hypothesis of weak separability between the provision of county and municipal services can be rejected. In addition, we cannot reject the hypothesis that the regional expenditures are weakly exogenous in the local expenditure equation.In Paper [3] the existence of spillover between Swedish municipalities in the provision of recreational and cultural services is analyzed. A representative .voter model is derived and the demand for recreational and cultural services is estimated using spatial SUR techniques. The results suggest a negative relationship between recreational and cultural expenditures provided by neighboring municipalities, which indicates that these services are substitutes.Paper [4] concerns the regional growth pattern in Sweden by analyzing what factors might determine the growth rate of regional average income levels and the net migration rates. Our results suggest a negative dependence between the initial average income level and the subsequent income growth, which supports the conditional convergence hypothesis. Among other things, we also find that the initial endowments of human capital have a positive effect on subsequent net migration while the initial unemployment rate is found to have a negative impact on net migration.Paper [5] complements the analysis made in Paper [4] by studying which factors determine average income growth and net migration at the local level of government. The conditional convergence hypothesis cannot be rejected. Local government investments are found to have a positive effect on the subsequent net migration while leaving the growth in mean income unaffected. This may indicate that the net migration caused by these investments does not significantly affect the proportion of skilled and unskilled labor. / <p>Härtill 5 delarbeten.</p> / digitalisering@umu

This thesis consists of a summary and four self-contained papers. Paper [I] examines whether fathers influence the time their children spend in subsidized child care. Two non-nested models of family child care demand are estimated. The parameter estimates indicate that several characteristics of the father are associated with the time his child spends in child care. J-tests and bootstrapped J-tests also show that a model where the father’s characteristics are excluded can be rejected in favour of a model where his characteristics are included. Paper [II] considers the effects of the Swedish child care fee reform on public expenditures and taxation in the municipalities. A difference-in-difference approach is employed where outcomes are compared with respect to the municipalities’ pre-reform fee systems. The results show that pre-reform characteristics determine taxes and child care expenditures in the post-reform period. It is also found that changes in child care quality were not connected to the pre-reform systems characteristics. Paper [III] provides evidence of the effect of college quality on earnings in Sweden. The results suggest that the link between college quality and earnings is weak. A small positive effect is found for individuals that are likely to work full time. Controlling for region of work affects the estimated effects, indicating a correlation between choice of college quality and choice of labour market region. In Paper [IV], earnings differences between transfer and non-transfer students are analysed. The results show that earnings, during the first years after leaving the university, are significantly lower for students who change universities compared to students who do not change. The earnings differences decrease significantly over time and over the earnings distribution.

由於人口快速成長使得土地開發行為頻繁，都市在面臨土地開發不公平與無效率，以及可預見未來都市建設財政更行拮据的情況下，提昇都市環境品質的理想似乎遙不可及，因此，針對都市土地開發所面臨的課題，如何建立一套公共設施費用負擔的制度，實刻不容緩。而美國地方政府所實施之土地開發衝擊費制度為都市成長管理之一種策略，隱含都市成長付費及使用者付費理念，似可引入我國都市土地開發系統中，此乃本研究之出發點。 　　本研究之進行，主要針對都市土地開發過程中，透過相關理論、制度探討，從其中檢討開發管制之缺失，並介紹美國土地開發衝擊費制度實施經驗，以其為基礎建立都市成長付費應有之觀念和原則。同時，並透過影響地方公共支出之各種因素分析及市鄉鎮長問卷調查，瞭解人口規模對公共支出的影響效果及市鄉鎮長對土地開發衝擊費之態度。最後，從公平、效率、財政及行政的觀點，探討其在臺灣地區實施之可行性。 　　在問卷調查的結果上，市鄉鎮財政明顯困難，且強烈希望有獨立課稅權；對於課徵土地開發衝擊費則偏向肯定的態度。在公共支出的實證分析上，本研究發現人口規模對地方公共支出有規模經濟與不經濟的現象，其可作為課徵土地開發衝擊費之基礎，而已達規模不經濟之都市，為較適合的實施對象。 　　在可行性分析上，本研究認為必須以立法依據為先決條件，透過合理關聯之計算、具有公信力之仲裁，以及會計支出之有效規範，才能使該制度順推動。 / Rapid population growth results in frequent land development. Improvement of the quality of urban environment seems to be a remote dream due to the unfair and inefficient urban land development and insufficient urban construction expenditures. In this connection, when facing urban land development problem, establishment of a system of sharing the expenditure of public facility construction warrants no delay. The land development impact fees implemented in the local government of the U.S., being a strategy of urban growth management embodies the idea of paying for growth and user charge. This measure deserves to be introduced into our urban land development system for reference and this is also the main starting-point of this study. 　　In the process of this study,its main stress is focused on evaluation of the drawbacks of development control through related and system and introduction of development impact fees system and implementing experience of the U.S.land development into ours. On the basis of that system and experience,the idea of paying for growth and user charge can be established.At the same time, through the analysis of factories of factories affecting local public expenditure and the investigations on questionnaires of chiefs,mayors and magistrates of cities and counties,the impact of population scale on local public expenditures and attitude of these mayors and magistrates toward the land development impact fees can be understood. Finally, whether the above-mentioned U.S.system can be implemented in our country can be examined through fairness, efficiency,financial and administrative points of views. 　　In the results of questionnaires, financial difficulty and strong intentions on independent tax-levying authority were expressed by city and villages.They also expressed a positive attitude of levying the development impact fees.When analyzing the actual case of public expenditures,this study finds out that population scale can results in economics of scale and diseconomics of scale in local public expenditures. This can be served as the basis of levying of land development impact fees and those cities of diseconomies will be suited for implementation. 　　In the analysis on its feasibility,this study considers that the legislation is prerequisite and this system can be implemented through rational nexus calculation, a credit arbitration and defective regulation of accounting expenditure.