• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.629-640
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• 2022

This study analyzed the relationship between local government size and regional economic growth using regional data from 2002 to 2020. By dividing local government expenditure into social development expenditure and economic development expenditure, economic growth and the inverted U-shaped Armey curve were verified, and the optimal size of local government expenditure was examined. In particular, the AMG estimation method considering the cross-sectional dependence and regional heterogeneity existing in the panel data was utilized. As a result of the analysis, it was found that there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between local fiscal expenditure and regional economic growth. When the proportion of total local fiscal expenditure is 7.63% of GRDP and social development expenditure is 3.45%, it is found that the optimal size of expenditure can maximize the regional economic growth rate. Local governments should increase the effectiveness of public expenditure policies by considering these points.