| 摘要註: |
縣市合併自2000年提出到2010年正式實施，其間經過十年蘊釀與討論。至2010年，政策確定之後，一時之間，各縣市爭先恐後爭取升格，其中以拋出北北基及高高屏三縣市合併的倡議最受人注目，最終，內政部核定由台北縣單獨升格為新北市，台中、台南以及高雄縣市合併成為台中、台南及高雄市。 其中，最特別的當屬高雄縣市的合併升格，由於合併前，原高雄市即為直轄市，高雄縣則為省轄縣，雙方不論在法律位階、發展皆有極大落差，儘管內政部表示是雙方合併升格，不過就現實情況看來，是高雄縣併入高雄市的「併入式升格」。如今，兩年過去，高雄縣市合併對於整體財政的影響是否有發揮當時所期待的綜效，是相當引人注意的一點。 另，時至今日，仍有人持續倡議著北北基與高高屏合併的議題，因此，本文先從高雄縣市合併後，歲入出以及債務等財政數據上的變化進行分析，再以此合併模式為基準，進一步的分析，高屏再合併於財政面所可能帶來的影響。 就本文研究結果發現，高雄縣市合併後，由於兩者合併前發展以及財政上的落差，再加上合併後面積、人口的大幅增額、福利政策等相關政策的從優適用，最重要的是，合併後，中央對高雄的補協助款雖未減少，但相較其他升格縣市，可說是幾乎沒有增加，種種不利因素，讓合併後高雄市，不僅沒有發揮當初合併前所預期改善財政的綜效，甚至可說是越加險峻。 同樣的，如果依照高雄縣市合併的模式與經驗來看，如果高屏再合併，可能還未合併前，高雄市就先落得破產的命運。最終，由本文研究結果可以歸納出，就財政上的層面來看，併入式合併對於財政面帶來的負面影響更為明顯，這樣的結果也與現行財劃法、公債法對併入式合併不友善之設計有相當關係。 因此，本文提出，一、「高屏平」相關措施應分階段實施，二、合併時屏東縣債務應由中央吸收，三、中央應予併入式合併之特別補協助款，三個建議以做為未來高屏如果再合併之參考。 The merger of major cities and counties in Taiwan, which was proposed in 2000 and enacted in 2010, went through a decade of debate and discussion. When the policy was finalized in 2010, counties and cities alike vied for the prestige of being “upgraded” to a higher tier. The two most widely regarded were the proposed mergers between Taipei City, Taipei County, and Keelung City on the one hand, and Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung County, and Pingtung County on the other. Ultimately, the Ministry of the Interior upgraded Taipei County to New Taipei City, while Taichung City, Tainan City, and Kaohsiung City were merged with their respective counties. Most unique among the mergers was the one between Kaohsiung City and County. Before the merger, Kaohsiung City was a municipality controlled by the central government, and Kaohsiung County was a provincially-controlled municipality. This led to a vast difference in development and legal status. The Ministry of the Interior claimed the two municipalities were upgraded simultaneously, yet in actuality, merely Kaohsiung County was upgraded to Kaohsiung City’s status, via the merger. Therefore, two years after the merger, it is worthwhile to see if the fiscal situation of the region had improved from the hoped-for synergy. What’s more, even today, there are advocates of further mergers between Taipei City, Taipei County, and Keelung City, or between Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung County, and Pingtung County. Therefore, this thesis shall attempt to analyze the changes in the data on fiscal numbers such as annual revenue and expenditure, as well as debt, in order to assess the fiscal impact of a possible merger between Kaohsiung and Pingtung. As this thesis discovers, the difference in development between Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County before the merger, added with an increase in area and population after the merger, but without a significant increase in subsidies from the central government in comparison to other mergers, have not only failed to bring about the anticipated fiscal synergy, but made the situation more dire. Based on the experience of the Kaohsiung City and County merger, if Kaohsiung were to further merge with Pingtung, Kaohsiung City might go bankrupt even before the merger. This study shows that, on a fiscal level, the negative effects of a merger are more pronounced, which is aggravated by bad allocation and public debt laws. In conclusion, this thesis offers three suggestions, should Kaohsiung and Pingtung ever merge: (a) any merger between Kaohsiung and Pingtung should only be executed in stages; (b) Pingtung’s debt should be absorbed by the central government after the merger; and (c) the central government should offer special subsidies in case of a merger. |