Typology of Statutory Cities in the Czech Republic from the Perspective of their Indebtedness and Population
Keywords:
municipality, statutory city, indebtedness, cluster analysis, region, public administrationAbstract
Purpose of the article Czech municipalities are public corporations which own property and undertake economic activity based on their approved budgets. The title “statutory city” is awarded to the largest cities of the Czech Republic, which are listed in Act Number 128/2000 Coll. The main purpose of the paper is to examine the relationship between the indebtedness of statutory cities (per capita) and their size (number of inhabitants), and the subsequent typology of these statutory cities based on these two attributes.
Methodology/methods Data were processed via standard methods of descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and cluster analysis.
Scientific aim The aim of the paper is to examine the relationship between the indebtedness of statutory cities (per capita) and their size (number of inhabitants), and the subsequent typology of these statutory cities based on these two attributes. The population factor (number of inhabitants) was selected based on bibliographical sources as well as based on data from the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic. The ministry itself assumes that the indebtedness of Czech municipalities is indeed related to their size: while indebtedness is not very common in the smallest municipalities (200–500 inhabitants), nearly all larger cities are indebted (with a handful of exceptions).
Findings Having calculated Spearman’s correlation coefficient and the Kendall´s correlation coefficient, we can confirm a statistically significant medium dependency between the indebtedness of statutory cities and their population. Based on these results, we employed cluster analysis to generate a typology of statutory cities based on their indebtedness and size (population): three clusters were determined (S1, S2 and S3).
Conclusion We can cautiously state that the indebtedness of a Czech statutory city is related to its size, even though it is not possible to confirm with absolute certainty a statistically significant relationship based on these results.
Purpose of the article Czech municipalities are public corporations which own property and undertake economic activity based on their approved budgets. The title “statutory city” is awarded to the largest cities of the Czech Republic, which are listed in Act Number 128/2000 Coll. The main purpose of the paper is to examine the relationship between the indebtedness of statutory cities (per capita) and their size (number of inhabitants), and the subsequent typology of these statutory cities based on these two attributes.
Methodology/methods Data were processed via standard methods of descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and cluster analysis.
Scientific aim The aim of the paper is to examine the relationship between the indebtedness of statutory cities (per capita) and their size (number of inhabitants), and the subsequent typology of these statutory cities based on these two attributes. The population factor (number of inhabitants) was selected based on bibliographical sources as well as based on data from the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic. The ministry itself assumes that the indebtedness of Czech municipalities is indeed related to their size: while indebtedness is not very common in the smallest municipalities (200–500 inhabitants), nearly all larger cities are indebted (with a handful of exceptions).
Findings Having calculated Spearman’s correlation coefficient and the Kendall´s correlation coefficient, we can confirm a statistically significant medium dependency between the indebtedness of statutory cities and their population. Based on these results, we employed cluster analysis to generate a typology of statutory cities based on their indebtedness and size (population): three clusters were determined (S1, S2 and S3).
Conclusion We can cautiously state that the indebtedness of a Czech statutory city is related to its size, even though it is not possible to confirm with absolute certainty a statistically significant relationship based on these results.
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