Evaluating Contracting-out Performance in Taiwan: Comparing Perceptions of Public Managers and Private Contractors (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Fiscal pressures and the change of governmental functions and managerial philosophies have promoted many governments in the world to seek new ways of public service delivery. Contracting out is a widely and increasingly utilized mode of service delivery (Hodge, 2000; Savas, 2000). Its benefits and problems, as well as how to make it work, if at all possible, have been studied in the public administration literature (Brown & Potoski, 2003a, 2003b, 2003c, 2006; Ferris & Graddy, 1988; Gooden, 1998; Romzek & Johnston, 2002). Nevertheless, it remains uncertain or controversial whether contracting out can actually succeed in serving the public purposes. In theory, proponents suggest that compared with traditional bureaucratic service delivery, contracting out can increase efficiency, reduce cost, improve quality, and downsize government because it brings in competitive pressures of the market (Benton & Menzel, 1992; Boyne, 1998;