However, before taking on the investigation of the conditional effect of citizens’
perception of governmental functions responsibility, this dissertation will search for the factors
behind the formation of citizens’ responsibility perception. This dissertation argues that the
citizens’ level of political sophistication and citizens’ policy preferences are the two major
factors that heavily influence their formation of the perception of which level of government is
responsible for a particular function in multi-tier government. With the investigation of the
conditional effect of citizens’ perception of governmental functions responsibility, this
dissertation hopes to produce a set of policy guidelines for those involved in the decentralization
policy circle.