How Does Age Structure of Population Affect Local Government's Expenditure on Early Childhood Education?—A Study Based on Provincial Panel Data From 2007 to 2021
The past few years have witnessed a steady decrease in birth rates and an increasing elderly population in China.The demographic shift has become a vital macro-level factor affecting the development of early childhood education(ECE)services in the country.To investigate the impact of demographic factors on public funding for ECE,this research utilized a two-way panel fixed-effects model to analyze panel data from 30 provinces in China between 2007 and 2021.The research found that the proportion of preschool-age children significantly positively predicts the scale of public funding and negatively predicts per-student public funding.The population ageing significantly and negatively predicts both the scale of public funding and the level of per-student public funding in ECE.The study also discovered that the population ageing negatively impacts the scale of fiscal investment in preschool education through the mediation roles of higher expenditures on medical health and social security.Thus,we should be particularly alert to the downside risks to the level of financial investment in ECE arising from the ageing of the population with fewer new-born children.It is also suggested that people's demand for the quality of preschool education should be valued,and the per capita financial allocation mechanism should be improved.It is necessary to recognize the potential intergenerational competition for the use of public resources,establish a growth mechanism for fiscal investment in ECE and enhance the efficiency of fiscal expense.
age structure of populationearly childhood education financepopulation ageingintergenerational competition
万方数据
