The Korea Local Administration Review

The environmental factors that lead to the increase in social welfare expenditure are diverse. They include local empowerments of welfare affairs and increase in local matching costs by welfare expansion of central government. There are various causes of the variation of social welfare spending in Korean local governments; however, the increase in general expenditure does not provide a full explanation. It is important to understand the determinants of social welfare expenditure of 31 local governments because Gyeonggi Province is a microcosm of the whole country. This study explores the determinants of social welfare expenditure of local governments. For precise analysis, we presents political and non-political factors that influence social welfare expenditure of local governments. The result suggests that the will of progressive heads is positively associated with the expansion of the welfare expenditure of the local government. In addition, the larger the size of the city, the greater the impact of aging and it leads to an increase in social welfare spending.

□ Keywords: Local Government, Social Welfare Budget, Local Social Welfare Budget, Political Factor, Non-political Factor