自從財政分權的觀念被提出以後，經過了實證研究的一再檢視，似乎也確認了財政分權對於許多國家經濟發展的助益。然而，在過去的經驗上，也不乏實施財政分權所導致的經濟衰退、甚至於貨幣危機的例子。而其中最主要的原因都是對於地方政府的財政紀律約束不良所導致的，因此，最近幾年來，在財政分權得到了大部份國家所認同了以後，緊接著，就是對於各個國家的地方政府財政之約束。 而在地方政府的財政紀律約束中，比較重要的作法即是財政課責的落實。而在財政課責當中，很重要的一個環節必須加以落實的即是有關於地方政府的財政審計，也因此在本研究當中，第一年將先針對我國的地方政府的財政課責制度進行一個全面性的檢視。然後，再以PEFA的架構，來針對我國的相關制度設計來進行評估。 第二年則是將歐美先進國家地方政府的財政課責制度來作為研究主題，探討其財政課責的運作如何來確保地方政府的財政紀律。目前本研究的案例研究對象，包括了：德國、西班牙、丹麥、荷蘭、以及英國等國家的地方財政課責制度來加以進行檢視。最後，根據各國地方政府的財政課責制度來總結出政策建議以供未來我國的「五都」的地方政府之規劃。 After the concept of fiscal decentralization being proposed by Oates, it has become the major policy measure for developing countries to develop their economy. Nevertheless, in spite of its popularity around the globe, fiscal decentralization in some countries did bring about the dire consequence of national economy, such as currency crisis. The primary cause of this national crisis usually results from the irresponsible spending behavior from the local government. As a result, the assurance of disciplined fiscal behavior of local government is getting ever more important. From the perspective of new public management (NPM), one way to ensure adequate fiscal behavior is by adopting financial accountability. In our first year research project, we would investigate the institutional arrangement of local public accountability in Taiwan. Then we employ the PEFA instrument to assess whether the relevant mechanism is appropriate in this country. In our research of the second year, we examine the local financial accountability currently implemented in OECD countries, such as Germany, Spain, Denmark, Netherland, and Britain. After the examination of the institutional arrangements of local public financial accountability in these countries, we would be able to generate some policy recommendations for the use of future local fiscal reform in Taiwan. The ultimate goal for policy analyst is to identify the desirable institutional design of public financial accountability that is able to ensure the adequate fiscal behavior from the local governments.
