Abstract:

Public cultural services are an essential component of a spiritually and culturally rich life, significantly contributing to enhancing the cultural level of the population, improving quality of life, and fostering a sense of happiness, which in turn drives social development. Recently, public cultural services have increasingly become a central focus of government initiatives. This study uses the "Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of a Modern Public Cultural Service System" (State Council, 2015) as a case study, selecting evaluation indicators from both input and output perspectives. It analyzes panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2018, employing synthetic control methods and equalization coefficient approaches to assess the effectiveness of public cultural service equalization policies. The findings reveal that the impacts of public cultural service equalization policies are not significant. Further analysis of influencing factors indicates that education level (illiteracy rate) has the most substantial effect on the degree of public cultural service equalization, followed by the government’s prioritization (the proportion of public cultural service expenditures to total public service expenditures), and lastly, economic development level (Gross Domestic Product, GDP). Based on these findings, the paper recommends reducing the illiteracy rate, increasing government investment, and promoting coordinated economic development.