Table 6 Ideas and methods of the robustness test

Test 1: The influence of central government policy

Controlling the influence of the central policy direction on the provincial fiscal expenditure structure in different periods

Controlling the “absolute deviation of the fiscal expenditure structure between the local government and the central government” in the regression model

Test 2: Change to province-level data

Testing the validity of the data: (1) To determine whether the term length of the local party and government leaders has the same impact on the fiscal expenditure structure of the province and the provincial level. (2) Use data after 2007 to avoid the impact of budget reform and to test whether the conclusion drawn is the same as that above

Replacing the sample with 2007–2018 “province-level” fiscal expenditure data

Test 3: Change in the sample time interval

Using the province-level fiscal expenditure data from 2007 to 2018 to avoid the impact of budget reforms