政府改造委員會業已成立一年(2001年10月25日)，由於此次政府改造的發動方式、目的與精省之政府再造雷同，兩者皆由國家發動，目的也在提昇國家競爭力，致國人對此次政府改造自然賦予較高之期望。政府改造委員會雖已陸續提出行政院部會組織調整與國會改造方案，惟本文認為國會改造、部會組織整併與員額精簡固然重要，但如無法合理劃分中央興地方權限，則改造成效終將有限。有鑑於此，本文檢視財產權理論 (property rights theory )、交易成本理論 (Transaction cost theory )、機關理論 (Agency theory/principal -agent approach )、公共選擇理論(Public choice theory of bureaucracy )、機關起源論 (The theory of agency origin by Wilson)、網絡途徑 ( The network approach )、與社會系統途徑 (The society systems approach ) 等七種主要分權理論與其續效假定，之後再探討歐美先進國家之分權趨勢與發展指標，藉以作為我國政府改造發展之借鏡。最後，針對我國未來政府改造之發展，本文提供數點意見，作為未來政府改造的參考。

Just over a year go, on 25 October 2001, a Government Reform Committee was established, for the second time, with the purpose of overseeing Taiwan's provincial downsizing. On both occasions, these committees have been launched by the government in order to help Taiwan to become more competitive with the rest of the world. People naturally have higher expectations of this second attempt at government reform, and indeed, the Government Reform Committee has proposed alternatives involving both executive and congressional reform. Although both of these reform alternatives - which involve organizational integration and downsizing – are clearly important, the effects will be limited if there is no reasonable level of review and participation between local and central government. In this paper, the seven main decentralization theories - Property Rights Theory, Transaction Cost Theory, Agency Theory/Principal-Agent Approach, Public Choice Theory of Bureaucracy, Wilson's Theory of Agency Origin, the Network Approach and the Society Systems Approach will be fully discussed, along with their proposed effects. This study will also compare these theories with some general trends and the developmental guidelines provided in the advanced countries of Europe and America, providing recommendations for future government reform in Taiwan.