A Study on Social Welfare Budget Determinants and Development Paths in Special Autonomous Regions : Jeju, Gangwon, and Jeonbuk Examples

In this study, the determinants(population factor, financial factor, and local factor) affecting the social welfare budget of three special autonomous provinces in Korea, including Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Gangwon State, and Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province were analyzed. Then, the development direction for the efficient operation of social welfare expenditure of the special autonomous province was suggested. As a method of this study, panel data related to the social welfare budget from 2008 to 2022 when the local finance integrated disclosure system local finance 365 and the Korea National Statistical Office (KOSIS) were provided were used, and regression analysis was conducted using Statistics 17.0. A comprehensive summary of the determinants analysis results of this study is as follows. First, in terms of population factors, the population covered by health insurance, the ratio of the elderly population, and the number of populations had a significant influence on the social welfare budget. Second, in terms of financial factors, it was found that the financial conditions of local governments had a major influence on the decision of the social welfare budget. Third, in regional factors, it was found that the total fertility rate and the number of social welfare facilities had a significant influence on the social welfare budget. In conclusion, in this study, the direction of development of the social welfare budget of special autonomous provinces derived based on the analysis results for each determinant of the following special autonomy is as follows. First, the increase in the elderly population suggests an increase in the demand for social welfare services and the need to increase the welfare budget accordingly. Second, in areas with low financial independence, local governments must seek ways to expand their own financial income and prepare strategies to secure their own tax revenues in order to improve the quality and quantity of social welfare services. Through this, it is necessary to increase financial independence and enable stable social welfare budget management. Third, it is important to develop customized welfare policies that take into account the characteristics of each region, and research should be conducted in a direction that can contribute to actual policy improvement. Customized policies that reflect regional specificity can contribute to the actual welfare of residents.