Before the arrival of the twenty-first century, Taiwan was widely regarded as a successful model of a country which had not only transformed herself from an underdeveloped economy into a high-tech industrialised island, but had also undergone a revolution from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one. Taiwan is now experiencing a significant economic slowdown and facing multifaceted challenges including low productivity, stagnant innovation culture of small and medium-sized enterprises, ageing population, sustainable energy mix, pension reform, upgrading of human resources, devising competition policy to provide incentives for innovation as well as to limit abuses from monopolies, warding off competition from countries with lower labour cost and managing complicated cross-Strait relationship with China. The edited book looks at Taiwan’s past successful development model, summarises Taiwan’s current situation, outlines the future challenges beyond the year 2020 and provides policy recommendations in the aforementioned aspects.
The contributors of this volume are accomplished veteran scholars in the fields. Several of them used to be policy-makers at the level of ministers or deputy ministers. The book offers not only academic contribution but policy-relevant insights.
Table of Contents:
1 Introduction; 2 How indigenous industrialisation began in post-war Taiwan; 3 Digital transformation and structural change in Taiwan’s national innovation system; 4 Japan’s national innovation system, small firms and patent system before and after the 1990s; 5 Post-catching-up science and technology trajectories: publishing and patenting activities of Taiwan; 6 Thirty years of economic relations across the Taiwan Strait: retrospect and prospects; 7 The PRC’s ‘Red Supply Chain’ and the Sino-American trade conflicts: measurements and effects on Taiwan; 8 Trade potential between ASEAN countries and Taiwan: the role played by information technologies; 9 Technological learning and innovations of manufacturing firms in selected ASEAN countries: an implication for future collaboration with Taiwan; 10 A prospect for Taiwan’s post-referendum energy policy; 11 Towards better environmental governance in Taiwan; 12 Taiwan population changes in the new century: causes and challenges; 13 Taiwan’s pension fund crisis: is the defined benefit plan the answer to an ageing society?; 14 The impact of populism on the growth of income: an empirical study of the four Asian NIEs; 15 Factors affecting the performance of outsourced preemployment training in Taiwan; 16 The semi-long-term low-wages dilemma in Taiwan: an examination of the role of SMEs and other institutional factors
About the Author :
Gee San is Professor Emeritus at National Central University. He was Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development.
Patarapong Intarakumnerd is Professor at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo. He is Editor-in-Chief of Asian Journal of Technology Innovation.
Review :
‘When I served as the Premier of Taiwan, Taiwan encountered the 2008 global financial crisis. At the time, many of the authors of this book were my cabinet members and we worked together to revitalize the Taiwan economy in order to weather the crisis. The authors of this book are all accomplished veteran scholars in their respective fields and many of them also have in-depth experience of policy planning and administration. The combination of their academic professionalism and first-hand policy experience surely makes this book unique and valuable. More importantly, this book provides both a detailed and comprehensive discussion of many important issues related to the latest economic developments and challenges in Taiwan. Such a discussion can surely be of much interest to teachers and researchers on a wide range of economic development disciplines, and the book can also serve as an excellent resource to practitioners and those who are involved in the formulation of industrial policies.’ - Liu, Chao-Shiuan, Former Premier of Taiwan, former President of National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu
‘This is a superb book, written by real experts on Taiwan, including leading academics and experienced policy makers. It is the only book on Taiwan which actually presents a holistic and history friendly analysis of Taiwan’s post War economic and technological transformation, including insightful comparisons and linkages with Japan, China and ASEAN. The collection of rigorous in-depth essays explores various essential facets of Taiwan’s history, including the fundamentals of post war economic development, the transformation of the science and technology base, relationships and conflicts with China, progress in trade, sources of innovation, energy and the environment, demographic changes, and trends in wages and employment. Unlike many other works in this area, the book is policy and action oriented. Indeed several of its contributors have had direct policy experiences as ministers and deputy ministers in charge of the policies analysed. This work of scholarship is essential reading for anyone interested in Taiwan’s remarkable economic and technological progress and potential solutions to the challenges now facing society and the economy.’ - Michael Hobday, Professor Emeritus, formerly Head of Centre for Research and Enterprise Excellence (CENTRIM), University of Brighton, UK, and the author of Innovation in East Asia.
‘This is a most welcome and comprehensive edited book that brings together a fine team of Asian experts. Their contributions collectively provide a rich and insightful account of the socio-economic challenges related to Taiwan’s post-2020 economic transformation. It encompasses a broad field of societal challenges including among others innovation, digital transformation, cross-strait relationships, secure energy supply, low wage traps, population ageing and pension system crisis. The book also gives the reader a good introduction to Taiwan’s catch-up "economic miracle". Employing rigorous research designs and comprehensive empirical evidence, the authors argue with many of the policies of the present DPP government and come up with clear policy alternatives. The book is a valuable and wide-ranging contribution that is not just relevant for academics and other experts but also beneficial for Taiwanese policy makers.’ - Laurids S. Lauridsen, Professor Emeritus, Roskilde University, Denmark and the author of State, Institutions and Industrial Development: Industrial Deepening and Upgrading Policies in Taiwan and Thailand Compared
