The study has demonstrated that the redistribution of the government functions between central and local governments can be identified in two different aspects

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Redistribution of Administrative Functions between Central and Local Governments in National Development

지방화시대 국토개발분야에서 중앙과 지방의 역할분담에 관한 연구(RR95-30) Yong-Woong Kim, Sang-Wook Kim, Kwang-Hyo Jie, and Mi-Sook Cha

1995. 12․318 pages․Korean

This study aims to examine the existing role of the central and local governments in the field of national development and to identify some of the possible directions for future redistribution of the government functions, as local autonomy is gradually established. This study reviews the relationship between the central and local governments in implementing the national development policy in order to identify the issues and problems in distributing government functions in an era of local autonomy. A set of principles and criteria has been developed in this study for redistributing the government functions in national development based on the extensive reviews of the previous studies on central-local relations and empirical cases of the major industrialized countries such as Japan, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The functions of government in national development are classified into five categories; planning, land-use control, urban and regional development projects, physical infrastructure, and environment and resource management.

This study focuses on the factors in preparing, approving and implementing plans, along with building and managing physical facilities in these five categories. The study has demonstrated that the redistribution of the government functions between central and local governments can be identified in two different aspects; one is to identify alternatives in a normative aspect, while the other is to identify them in a practical aspect. The former is more concerned with the theoretical justification and rationale for the central-local relations in modern democratic countries, whereas the latter is concerned with the financial and managerial capacities of the local authorities for performing government functions.

A questionnaire survey was also conducted in this study to identify the issues and problems in the redistribution of government functions, perceived by

central and local government officials, academicians and professionals in the field of the national development. The results of the study shed some light on directions and basic concepts for the future redistribution of the specific functions in the national development.