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The evolution of Taiwan's political economy seems paradoxical. From the 1960s to 1980s, Taiwan went through economic transformations that have been called an “economic miracle.” This was followed by a successful democratic transition from the late 1980s to mid‐1990s that might be considered a “political miracle.” In the early 1990s, Taiwan could be regarded as a success story and a model for developing nations. Yet, Taiwan was soon to “enter troubled waters” marked by growing conflict and threat from China (PRC), fears about the “hollowing out” of its previously vaunted economy, and vicious polarization and gridlock in its domestic politics. We argue that many of the challenges facing Taiwan derive from unanticipated and unintended costs of its previous successes. In particular, what worked to promote successful economic and political development at one point later became counterproductive in the changed circumstances created by the country's rapid developmental trajectory. Our basic research questions, hence, are whether the challenges currently facing Taiwan's political economy can be explained by the country's past pattern of development and, if so, whether these linkages appear to be connected to success or failures in Taiwan's history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong global demand for new information and communication technology devices had pushed Taiwan's economic growth rate in 2017 to 2.84%, from 1.41% in 2016. The improving global economy, growth in minimum wage and rising government expenditure are encouraging factors in the near term. Taiwan's future economic outlook hinges on its technological capability vis-à-vis other regional peers, close production relations with global multinational firms and adaptation to other new consumption products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a variation on a recent keynote address at the Taiwan Corporate Governance Association's (TCGA) Annual Summit. In response to these remarks, TCGA has formed an advisory committee and is making recommendations to the executive, judicial, and legislative branches in Taiwan about the establishment of business courts, substantive revisions to the corporate law statute, and the implementation of new procedures, including the use of experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The foreign policy of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who was elected in 2016, will be closely watched by Beijing and countries in Southeast Asia. Before her inauguration, Tsai stated that her administration would pursue a so-called “New Go South Policy’’ (xin nanxiang zhengce), i.e. a foreign policy focused on building up ties with countries in Southeast Asia as well as in South Asia. A similar policy was initiated by two former presidents of Taiwan, Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian. This article provides a framework to analyze the determinants, objectives, policy dimensions and scope of President Tsai’s New Go South Policy. It examines and compares the Go South Policies of previous administrations, together with former President Ma Ying-jeou’s policy towards Southeast Asia. Based on these discussions, a prospective policy analysis of President Tsai’s Go South Policy is provided. It is argued that Tsai’s Go South Policy will help enhance Taiwan’s soft power, increase the island’s presence in Southeast Asia but will not be used to counterbalance China-Taiwan economic integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the equity-crowd funding regulation in Taiwan. Topics discussed include the Title III of the U.S. JOBS Act in 2012 that expanded for-profit crowd funding platforms to fund small businesses and startups; Taiwan's the Go Incubation Board for Startup and Acceleration, a government-sanctioned public equity crowd funding platform; and Taiwan's dependence on a high level of investor protection underlying local securities regulation.

Since the early 2000s, transfer of development rights has served as a compensatory regime to address the ‘reserved land’ issue in Taiwan, a planning challenge that has seen private owners remain uncompensated for land flagged by the government for public facilities. This article investigates two aspects of the implementation of transfer of development rights in Taiwan. First, it examines the local adaptation process by which the use of transfer of development rights has been diverted from its original function of historical preservation. Second, it maps the spatial impact of this compensation process, using Sanchong District in New Taipei City as a case study. We demonstrate that trends of high-end developments in prime locations and ‘piecemeal transfer’ in the city’s older, inner neighbourhoods show worrisome patterns of uneven development. We conclude that the neoliberal effects generated by the transfer of development rights policy have complicated the planning challenge the policy was initially intended to resolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reflects on desire of China to involve indirectly in presidential and legislative elections campaign of Taiwan held in January 16, 2016. Topics discussed include the initiates of political parties Chinese Communist Party and Democratic Progressive Party for the same, a summit held between the Chinese and Taiwanese Presidents on November 7, 2015 in Singapore and a speech by Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Taiwan policy.

This paper investigates whether and w hy the Taiwanese investors in mainland China are pursuing a different location selection strategy from other foreign direct investors. I find that, compared to the general foreign direct investors, Taiwanese direct investors seem to be more dependent on the autonomy of local governments, especially as investment in a locality increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwan is a regional laboratory for Anglo-American-style corporate governance; we examine it from legal, capital, labor, and management perspectives. Statistical analyses of Taiwanese-listed companies show that independent directorship reduces financial distress and improves information disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S.-anchored TPP and the China-centered RCEP may be compatible or in rivalry. Regardless of the future relationship of the two trade pacts, Taiwan does not have the luxury of picking and choosing. Given its domestic entrenched political cleavages and very challenging geo-strategic and geo-economic environments it faces, Taiwan should pursue membership in both blocs. Indeed, pursuing one can help its bid for the other. Should Taiwan be excluded from both, its economy would not be doomed, as there are still some unrealized trade benefits to exploit. However, a Taiwan not able to join the two clubs would have to absorb psychological and real impacts. Whether as an outsider or insider of the two trade blocs, Taiwan will have to go through industrial upgrading in a big way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), led by the United States, aims to create a comprehensive and high-standard twenty-first century agreement. Given that the TPP is likely to transform the regional trade landscape in the future, its final shape will profoundly impact Taiwan's trade-driven economy. Since Taiwan's economic strengths have been built on its robust electronics industry, how the TPP alters regional electronic supply chains and challenges Taiwan's electronics industry are crucial questions for investigation. This paper intends to unravel the possible consequences of the TPP on Taiwan's electronics sector by using economic analysis and modeling. The findings highlight the significance of the TPP to Taiwan's electronics industry and are followed by policy proposals intended to sustain Taiwan's global competitiveness in electronics sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proponents of the TPP describe it as a 21st-century agreement that will reach further into domestic economies and domestic policy settings than conventional free trade and investment agreements. Beyond the traditional approach that deals with trade barriers between borders, TPP negotiations attempt to tackle issues behind the border by addressing how policies should be formulated and managed domestically. The TPP is unique in targeting the philosophy and processes, as well as the substance, of domestic policy and regulatory decisions. The paper examines this "behind-the-border" approach by the TPP. The leaked chapter on regulatory coherence illustrates an attempt to establish institutional and procedural frameworks for the conduct of domestic regulations. In light of the proposed TPP obligations regarding regulatory coherence, this paper reviews the challenges and opportunities faced by Taiwan if it becomes involved in TPP negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a comprehensive trade agreement with higher standards than any existing Free Trade Agreement. Taiwan believes continuing economic prosperity depends on being in the second round group of countries to join after the TPP is established. There are two major considerations. First is the "China factor." Continuing economic relations with China are critical to Taiwan's prosperity. Economic consideration plus China's unwavering opposition to any evolution of a two China policy limits Taiwan's freedom of maneuver. Second are necessary modifications to and restructuring of Taiwan's economy if it is to sustain further effective economic globalization including TPP membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Obama Administration's 'Pivot to Asia' has wide-ranging implications for Asian nations, yet for Taiwan many implications of the pivot remain ambiguous. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is one prime example of Taiwan's current foreign policy uncertainties. As the economic arm of the Pivot to Asia, the TPP has the potential to become the world's biggest free trade agreement, creating unprecedented trade opportunities for member states. Taiwan's government has openly expressed a desire to join the TPP, but faces unique obstacles in its path toward membership. Drawing on lessons from Taiwan's previous successes in establishing fisheries agreements and joining fishing organizations, this article explores Taiwan's limitations and options as it strives toward TPP accession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa's largest trade partner, China, criticised for exchanging resources for manufactures, has promised to increase imports and optimise the structure of trade with Africa. Using a gravity model of China's imports for the years 1995-2009, we explore potential dynamics for this promise, uniquely accounting for market economy recognition and Taiwan recognition. The former is associated with increased imports, while the latter effect is ambiguous and statistically insignificant. Comparison of projected against actual imports across three growth-path-aligned economic geography typologies - resource-rich; landlocked and resource-poor; coastal and resource-poor - sets out China's imports trends in an abstract framework of African export potential. We find not only 'under' importing across a majority of resource-poor countries. We also find that current trade policy is the least applicable to these comparatively poor exporters' trade with China. If the latter are to serve a broader catalytic role in Africa's regional industrial transformation as compared to the role of coastal and resource-poor countries in regional economic transformation in Asia and Latin America, China-Africa trade and investment policies may need additional thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the transitional processes of Taiwan's innovation system over the past half century, evolving from being rooted in traditional industries to attaining development in a virtuous cycle of development. Our approach is inspired by the Arena of Development theory and acknowledges the system of transformation failures, in which we highlighted the types of failures that might impede economic progress and how they were overcome in the evolutionary targeting of Taiwan's industrial development. Our findings demonstrate that the success of Taiwan's economic transition is targeted on, and evolves with, a series of macrolevel policies in the early phase of development; mesolevel institutional mechanisms to attain the industrial emergence settings; and, in pursuit of the virtuous cycle of development, the microlevel collaboration platform. We attribute the success of Taiwan's industrial system to this series of systematic government interventions. This study provides novel and salient normative principles that guide transformational policymakers in governing transitional processes of innovation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the trends of international intellectual property protection for developing countries such as Taiwan, Singapore and China.

This research uses the fuzzy Delphi and Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to analyze the key factors involved in evaluating and screening industry managers of intellectual property (IP) rights within Taiwan. Firms can utilize the key factors of human resource management to provide self-growth opportunities and obtain competitive advantage opportunities that can expand their global market share. This study summarizes the evaluation and screening criteria used for IP rights managers via a questionnaire distributed to 29 management experts, from the governmental departments related to IP rights body, and scholars with backgrounds in IP rights related teaching, who had actually participated in IP rights managers' specialty decisions, and who had employed fuzzy Delphi screening criteria, uses Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) calculate relative weight. The findings include five key competency factors: Evaluating IP rights, locating the core patent group, calculating the chance that patents will be granted, deciding the best time to patent, and deciding whether to apply for patents inland or overseas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study follows the historical evolution of Taiwan’s household appliances industry and reviews the establishment of design divisions in domestic household appliance manufacturers, including Tatung and Sampo. By examining historical documents and conducting interviews with senior industry personnel, this study explores the ways in which household appliance companies respond to domestic consumer characteristics. Further, this paper analyses the companies’ industrial policies in the mid-1980s under international economic liberalization and the technical support received from overseas partners. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper employs a panel of 23 local governments in Taiwan over 1998–2010 to re-estimate the redistribution effects of intergovernmental fiscal transfers by considering a self-financing resources of local government as the transition variable in panel smooth transition regression models. Empirical results show that the income (or tax revenues) redistribution effects of fiscal transfer policies are nonlinear and vary with time and across local governments. The grants from central government can improve income and tax revenues distribution of local governments; however, the centrally allotted tax revenues have inverse effects and the total fiscal transfers have ambiguous effects. The total fiscal transfer is a proper policy instrument for improving income redistribution, and the grants for improving tax revenues redistribution. However, high self-financing resources ratios are harmful for these redistribution effects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rapid growth in the East Asian newly industrializing countries depended on institutional innovation. Authoritarian governments like Taiwan faced a dilemma: how to assure investors in a policymaking environment that made commitments difficult to sustain? In contrast to both the early developmental state literature and the new literature on authoritarian institutions, this article shows that 'small' institutions have had an effect on both the credibility of commitments and the composition of the firms that the Taiwanese state sought to assure. In the 1950-1960s, insulated decision-making bodies with strong participation by foreigners and export-processing zones signaled government intent to both foreign and domestic firms. In the 1970-1980s, democratic decision-making structures were more decentralized and state interventions shifted in a more market-oriented direction. Even so, the Taiwanese government continued to use institutions such as the Hsinchu Science Park to extend assurances to domestic investors engaged in risky high-technology ventures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]