Contending Approaches To The Political Economy Of Taiwan

This work compares IT parks in China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hawaii, in search of strategies that policy makers can employ to reduce the Global Digital Divide, advance distributional equity, and soften some of the negative effects of economic globalization.

Known as the Taiwan Miracle, the Republic of China on Taiwan (R.O.C.) has, over the past thirty-five years, experienced one of the world's highest rates of economic growth. Arguing that major theoretical frameworks for analyzing international political economy are often too simplistic in that they omit key factors or overly generalize from relationships found only in limited situations, Clark uses a detailed case history of the R.O.C. to suggest not only that development and dependency in contemporary society are extremely complex and indeterminate processes, but that development in Taiwan deviates significantly from the postulates of the two leading paradigms of international political economy. To go even further, Clark states that Taiwan's economic growth and transformation resulted from its deviation from the normal dependency syndrome. Indeed, a development strategy based on economic flexibility and periodic regime change that has made this flexibility possible are hallmarks in Taiwan's success story. The United States and other advanced industrial economies whose past successes have created economic and political barriers to future adaptation can be better understood in terms of the characteristics of R.O.C.'s development strategy. Part I of the three-part work focuses on environment, first discussing various paradigms and theories about development and then presenting an historical overview of Taiwan. The second part investigates Taiwan's international role, political development, and rapid economic growth. The volume closes with a chapter devoted to the implications of the Taiwan experience and political economy paradigms. Eight figures and thirty-five tables illustrate facets of Taiwan's development, including government structure, indicators of agricultural development, industrialization, educational progress, and export performance, among others. Because of the detailed presentations of political economy theories and their variants, especially in relation to economic and political development in Taiwan, this volume would be an excellent choice for courses in political economy, developing societies, Asian politics, and international relations theory, as well as libraries serving students in these areas.

This work compares IT parks in China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hawaii, in search of strategies that policy makers can employ to reduce the Global Digital Divide, advance distributional equity, and soften some of the negative effects of economic globalization.

When Chinese Nationalists retreated from the mainland to Taiwan in 1949-50, they governed a people barely recovered from the Japanese occupation and Pacific War. Wartime damage to factories, plants and buildings had not been repaired and food was barely sufficient to feed an increasing population. However, by 1997 Taiwan had entered the select list of wealthy nations. It is the world's 14th largest trading nation, has the third largest foreign reserves and is the sixth largest outbound investor. The International Monetary Fund reviewed Taiwan's economic indicators in 1997 and placed it for the first time among the world's developed nations. This transition from poverty to affluence in less than 50 years constitutes an economic miracle, claims the author, and its explanation is one of the themes of this book.

This book offers a diverse set of perspectives on the current state of Taiwan's economy and international relations, equally considering the challenges and opportunities that could forge Taiwan's future. Featuring a range of interdisciplinary approaches, this edited volume has been written by some of the leading scholars on Taiwan's economy and international relations, as well as emerging scholars and writers with practical diplomatic, political, and civil society experience. Contributors cover themes from political economy and international relations to gender studies and civil society-led LGBT diplomacy. Readers will benefit from chapters outlining both the historical overview of Taiwan's development and more recent developments, with several chapters offering focused case studies into Taiwan's economy and international space. A balanced set of conclusions are reached, affording scope for both optimism and pessimism about Taiwan's prospects. Taiwan's Economic and Diplomatic Challenges and Opportunities will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, economics, and Taiwan studies.

Debate-style readers can be effective and provocative teaching tools in the classroom. But if the readings are not in dialogue with one another, the crux of the debate is lost on students, and the reader fails to add real depth to the course. This book solves this issue by inviting 15 pairs of scholars and practitioners to address current and relevant questions in international relations through brief 'yes' and 'no' pieces.

This remarkable book reveals how little we know about what lies behind the superficial antagonism between the PRC and Taiwan, especially where business is concerned.