Urban Migration and Local District Government Expenditure from the Perspective of Urban Competitiveness - A Study on 25 Seoul Districts

Abstract

This research mainly investigates the relationship between urban migration and local government expenditure within 25 districts in Seoul, Korea. The network analysis provides different origin-destination combinations of migration within Seoul, and it also shows the frequency and popularity of certain districts. Another part of the research, which is based on a 7-year (2008- 2014) panel data multiple regression analysis on government expenditures, has discovered positive relationships between migration and local district government expenditure on social welfare, and migration and local district government expenditure on living environments. The results as a whole seem to be concurrent with bigger current issues in many local governments including Seoul, as social welfare and regional developments have become more and more important factors in many local administrations. The results of this research additionally propose a potential improvement of measures of urban competitiveness, as current measures do not reflect citizens choice of relocation or migration. As customer-oriented trend continues in public administration and public policy areas, seeing how consumers behave and react to policies may give implications for how local governments can improve their cities.