県庁所在地における中核市・特例市のブランド的価値

抄録

This paper reports on a questionnaire survey among the government officers of three prefectural capitals (Fukushima City, Tsu City, and Tokushima City) that were not promoted to the status of “special city” or “city suitable for the establishment of health centers.” The questionnaire contained politically and administratively oriented questions framed from five perspectives. Analysis of the government officers’ answers was undertaken on the basis of a comparison of the institutional value of core cities and special cities. The three cities examined in this study were not promoted to core or special city status for three main reasons, namely the feasibility of municipal mergers, administrative authority, and financial costs. Particularly, municipalities evaluated the value of a core or special city from the perspective of the “presence/absence of an authority to set up health centers.” Accordingly, the author concludes that the brand value of a core city or a special city can be specified based on differences in regional scope and administrative authority.