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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 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]

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]

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]

The article presents a speech by Chinese politician Jiang Zemin at the Taiwan work meeting of the Central Committee of China. He mentions the maintenance of close contacts of the Xinjiang region to the Central Plains of China, and highlights the historical and current situation regarding the issue of East Turkistan and the ethnic separatist forces of Xinjiang Xian.

The changes to the developmental state resulting from Taiwan's political liberalization and democratization have created a complex political-economic decision-making landscape that has affected the process of financial reforms. In this article, the author examines the impact that the changes in the nature of the Taiwanese state, institutions, and the increase in the number of important political actors have on financial liberalization and reforms that have been undertaken thus far, providing a theoretical framework to explain how institutional changes, the interactions of political actors, and changes in incentives in the political system can help one understand the politics of financial reform. Using this theoretical framework, the author examines the application of the theory to the Taiwan case in depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the transformation of the textile and garment industry in Taiwan from the period after 1945, when the industry was small and inconsequential, to the contemporary period, where the industry is a world leader at the frontier of fibre and new material development. The drivers of these developments include the role of industrial policy, initial assistance from the USA, generous export-orientated, investment-friendly incentives, and regulatory pressures imposed in global markets. Taiwan successfully restructured and reached the innovation-driven phase of the industry by the late 1980s, relocating labour-intensive activities to China and Southeast Asia, with Taiwan specialising in technology-intensive activities. Although the industry's employment and exports have fallen since the 1980s, the successful evolution of firms intohigh value-added and upstream activities continues to maintain the industry's dynamism in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regardless of the continued stalemate in the political arena, trade and economic interactions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have increased steadily. Both aggregate data and the results of survey research have testified to the existence of functional integration of the two societies across the Taiwan Strait. In addition to functional integration, structural readjustments have also been made by political authorities both in Taipei and Beijing so as to facilitate continuity of trade and economic relations. These types of mutual accommodations include: establishing proper 'unofficial' agencies on both sides to serve as instruments of practical contacts and negotiation; the more flexible definition of 'One China' by Beijing; and the opening of 'small links' between Quemoy and Amoy by Taipei. Beijing's refusal to grant Taipei any official diplomatic status and Taipei's reluctance to accept the 'One China' principle remain major obstacles to cross-Taiwan Strait relations. The United States will continue playing a key role in future cross-Strait relations. Beijing seems to be content, at least temporarily, to maintain cordial relations with the United States in exchange for the latter's adherence to the 'One China' principle and rejection of the option of Taiwan independence. Whether Taipei will use enhanced US commitment to Taiwan's security to strike a better deal with Beijing for gradual cross-Strait integration or to utilize increased American protection to move onto the separatist road will be affected by domestic politics in Taiwan, future US policy toward to the island, and Beijing's response to Taipei's demand for security and international recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-Taiwan Straits economic interaction is a political as well as an economic issue. General trends of economic interdependence and globalization that are weakening the role of the nation state should promote a focus of shared 'civilian governance' between Taiwan and mainland China. WTO entry will provide opportunities as well as challenges for cross-Strait economic relations. In anticipation of this dynamic, the new government in Taiwan is attempting to design a new national security web to guarantee Taiwan's 'economic security' in coping with Taiwan's increasing economic dependence on mainland China. As one key agent of globalization, economic cooperation in the urban areas on both sides of the Taiwan Strait may potentially improve relations between Taiwan and mainland China. As decentralization and privatization on mainland China proceed, major cities have developed closer interaction and systems of accountability with the civil society. From a prudent perspective, developing functional cooperation between Taiwan and mainland China at the urban level could be a first substantial step to confidence building between these two economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the differences in financial policy toward small business in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Variations in small business activities among the three countries; Factors that explain financial policy toward small business; Changes in financial policy.

Investigates the asymmetric response of output to monetary policy shocks using data from Taiwan. Definition of asymmetrics; Effect of easy monetary policy; Contradictory results from different classifications of recessions.

Discusses the economic structures behind the shift from urban to rural biasness in South Korea and Taiwan. Comparison between the class-theoretic and the rational choice approaches in explaining sectoral bias; Analysis of economists Robert Bates' and Michael Lipton's research works; Relationship between agriculture and polity at different income levels in South Korea and Taiwan.

Examines the effects of the tenure system introduced with the land reform carried out in Taiwan from 1949 to 1953 on the rice sector. Features of the land reform program; Model for rice production in Taiwan; Behavior of rice farmers since the land reform; Effect of land reform on the rice production; Effect on the market of rice in Taiwan.

We employ vector autoregression to test for direct Granger causality among state entrepreneurship, foreign investment, export expansion, and economic growth in Taiwan. We infer hypotheses about the relationships among these variables from the developmentalist, dependency, and statist perspectives, which suggest varied and often contradictory expectations about the presence or absence, and about the sign and direction of causality among these variables. We found that Taiwan is a unique case and differs from the findings reported in previous research on Brazil and Ireland. The island's state entrepreneurship has been "Granger caused" by its own recent history as well as the recent history of GNP performance. In lure, slate entrepreneurship has had a causal impact on export expansion. But state entrepreneurship has not been influenced by and has not influenced either economic growth or foreign investment. In addition to state entrepreneurship, foreign investment and economic growth have affected Taiwan's export expansion. The inflow of foreign investment has been caused by both endogenous (that is, this variable's own recent history) and exogenous (Taiwan's past export successes) sources. All other suspected causal linkages fail to be substantiated by our analysis. Accordingly, state entrepreneurship has evidently acted as a key nexus in the operation of the internal, but not external, market forces in Taiwan, thus supporting and contradicting central arguments of all three perspectives on political economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues that Taiwan and South Korea have had unusually liberal trade regimes despite the conclusions drawn from comparative trade studies and neoclassical studies. Departure from free trade principles; Trade regime in 1969; Import impediments after 1969; Economic effects of protection; Design of multinational economic institutions; Belief system of economics.

Examines the experience of industrialization in Taiwan between 1952 and 1972, its policy choices as compared to those made by African countries, and the lessons that may be of relevance to African industrialization strategies. Preconditions for industrial development; Policies for industrial development in Taiwan, 1952-72; The state as agent of development; Conclusions.