Research on Regional Development Policies (PFI) as an Alternative to the Semipublic Enterprises

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Semipublic enterprises established based on government-private sector joint investment are expected to be organizations that simultaneously provide the public orientation of government entities and the managerial know-how of the private sector. However, there are many cases where the management of semipublic enterprises is not carried out wholly in line with initial expectations. The reason for that has its roots in the incompatibility of the public nature of government and the commercial nature of the private sector. Semipublic enterprises by nature are operated as entities with a high communal orientation and low profit orientation. Therefore, as they directly and indirectly receive capital support and other funding from government on an ongoing basis, the problem of moral hazards in terms of management is significant.In recent years, as a result of the deterioration of the financial condition of countries and municipalities that have provided such capital support to semipublic entit … More ies that are experiencing problems, there is a nationwide trend of reassessment of semipublic enterprises experiencing management-related problems. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that regional development policies utilizing semipublic entities have achieved some degree of success even in municipalities with high levels of private sector activity, to say nothing of rural communities with low levels of private sector activity. Thus, it is necessary to identify regional development policies that use channels other than semipublic entities.Under these circumstances, PFI, which was conceived in England, has generated a certain level of results as a measure for utilizing private sector entities in place of semipublic enterprises. PFI (private finance initiative) is a new method of social capital organization that was conceived in England in 1992. Its utilization is also anticipated in Japan to function as a transparent and highly effective structure.Based on these expectations, a significant amount of research on PFI is also being carried out in Japan. The majority of current research on PFI centers on large urban areas with high levels of private sector activity, and is fast being applied to major regional centers ; research in rural communities is virtually non-existent. Thus, this research has researched PFI as a method for providing public services in rural communities, where the importance of PFI research is yet to reach its zenith. Less