The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles played by universities in the field of policy research. Due to the govemment's deteriorating fiscal imbalance and other political and economic reasons, there is an increasing demand for policy research and analysis and a growing need for the quantitative analysis and evaluation of various policies formulated by the central and local governments. Universities have begun to play the crucial roles in the field of policy research and analysis, particularly, with the recent increase in public policy graduate schools that have the great potential to fulfill the role of independent think tanks. Exchanges between ministry officials and university researchers have been increasing, and these relationships have proved to be beneficial to both the officials and the researchers. However, there remain a number of problematic issues that need to be addressed by universities, for instance, the need to recognize the importance of policy research and to put in more effort and resources toward policy research and the need for universities to improve their ability to publicize and distribute research findings and information. On the other hand, in order to attract promising policy makers, government agencies must address issues such as the improvement of benefits and compensation for employees holding post-graduate degrees.
