The direction of reforming administrative financial policies to respond to the age of “public-private partnerships”

[Class Objectives and Topics]
　The administrative financial system that assumes a developing-type societal structure is unable to keep up with society that is now a matured-type and is experiencing institutional fatigue. Especially, the harmful influence of the vertically split structure of a country that has individual laws establishing administrative sections (ministries) is prominent. Responding to this situation, regional governments have been advancing ahead of the national government to start taking in methods of management that responds to privatization and public-private partnership, and are advances administrative reform in a direction that merges vertical hierarchical structures. The welfare insurance system and the specified manager system along with opening the market to private businesses has professionalized the role of administrative agencies, converted them to a coordinating role and stimulated the direction of third party evaluations. In this field, it is possible to accelerate the reconfiguration of public facilities seriously consider their function by structuring evaluation systems with the designated administrator system.
　This course goes beyond an explanation of the concepts and structure of regional finances according to the Local Autonomy Act by redefining the distribution of roles between the government, citizens and private companies, and examining the direction and policies of managing regional governments.
　By performing cost analysis for administrative services, methods of effective service provision are examined and tied together with the enlargement of service provision; however, as contracts (creation of manuals, selecting businesses) and monitoring of indirect services will increase, it will become necessary to have professional efforts directed at overall business analysis and improvement. By broadly outsourcing work for a number of facilities and neighboring administrative governments, it becomes possible to secure the advantages of scalability and expertise.
Regarding financing, moving away from the conventional importance of receiving money and advancing sounding investigations, an increasing number of applications of PPP (public-private partnerships) can be seen revolving around methods such as public solicitation, selection of priority negotiating rights and contracts such as “optional contracts.”
　This course has an objective of verifying the direction of new “regional administrative finances,” while examining specific cases that correspond to an age that expands the possibility of new professional business and creative business development and does not get caught up in the public framework as a result of administrative management converting to public management.

An objective of this course is for students to understand the substantive parts of the system of administrative finances of regional governments through specific cases and create a base for practically examining the direction and methods of public-private partnerships.

1. Orientation: the realities of carrying out administrative finances (the differences in the organization and functions of the national, prefectural and municipal levels)
2. What are regional governments? (comparing Japan and the United States. Substantive processes of regional governments and maturing societal structures)
3. The basic system of regional administrative finances and its changes (relationship with the national government and the relationship with the Diet and citizens)
4. Crisis of regional finances, its process and true nature, direction of reform
5. Regional administrative finances and their relationship with local taxes, subsidies and bonds
6. Organization of financial statements and administering local governments
7. The "time bomb" of regional finances due to the aging of public facilities and infrastructure
8. Development possibilities of public-private partnerships using the designated administrator system
9. Cost analysis of administrative services (centered around ABC methods)
10. Methods outsourcing administrative services and methods on how to use such services
11. Concept of public-private partnerships and the business reform proposal system
12. The characteristics and utilization of public accounting reform (coordinating with management of public facilities)
13. A new direction of financial management (financing, comprehensive budget allocation method)
14. Business development that does not use budgets (coordination-type, asset utilization-type)
15. Summary

In order to get an overview of the Local Autonomy Act, along with explanations according to the textbook, this course will have a lecture format that assumes a practical approach centered around explanations of analyzing cases. As one part, students will provide a presentation of an independent report on a topic that they are interested in and there will be a discussion.

Pre-class study: Search for questions and challenges regarding the content of the activities and business practices for the following week.
Post-class study: Consider the influences and effects of the results gained from each of the business practices and activities of the lecture.
Each of these should take around 30~60 minutes in total. It is recommended that graduate students in regular employment use and examine actual activities and business practices done in working hours.

Grading will be based on the report (70%) and class participation (proactive discussion) (30%). Particularly excellent work will receive an S, the next best work will get an A, average work will result in a B, somewhat poor work will receive a C, and anything that leaves more to be desired will get a D (fail).

None in particular.

H. Matsumoto, “An overview of the Local Autonomy Act (4th edition),” Gakuyo Shobo (2012) (available in Japanese only)
M. Minami (ed.), “Public facility management that succeeds,” Gakuyo Shobo (2016) (available in Japanese only)
Other materials will be distributed in class.

* M. Kaneko, “Local Autonomy Act of a revolutionary period,” Iwanami Shinsho (available in Japanese only)
* Books and articles of the lecturer (refer to the profile)