An Evolution of Taiwan's Economic Development in the 1990s

Author

Pei Ling Chang, Fontbonne College

Year of Award

1995

Degree

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

College

College of Business & Professional Studies

Degree Program

Business Administration

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

China, Hong Kong, economy, trade

Abstract

In the past 46 years, Taiwan has gone from a third-world country through the “developing” stage, to a country that has almost outrun itself in its economic surge. This tiny island’s economic good fortune makes for an amazing tale. When Chiang Kai-shek moved the government to Taiwan after losing the Civil War to the Communists in 1949 Taiwan was rural, poor, and backward. Today it is among the richest countries. The gross national product per person is above Saudi Arabia’s and double that of Greece or Portugal. Schooling and health care are universal, life expectancy is high and rising, foreign-currency reserves are second only to Japan’s. Because of careful planning and hard work, Taiwan has become one of Asia’s economic “dragons” along with South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. Now Taiwan is poised to offer its people a standard of living comparable to that in the developed world. The government plan foresees per capita income rising to over $14,000.

Since Taiwan became a miracle in Asia’s countries, it has faced a lot of problems such as shortage of labour, increased price of land, and change of industry. In response to these problems, Taiwan is looking for other countries which have abundant and cheaper sources of labour and land. Mainland China seems to be the best option for businessmen from Taiwan, since it is first across the Taiwan Strait and they speak Chinese. Even though Taiwain and mainland China have opposite government styles both countries have changed policies since 1949 causing tension between the two countries to lessen and economic relations to grow stronger. Besides mainland China, Taiwan has other important trading partners through out the world. The United States is Taiwan’s largest two-way trading partner. Besides the United States, Taiwan had a $14.2 billion deficit with Japan in 1993. Taiwan also trades with Hong Kong to transfer commodities to mainland China. Also, Europe and South East Asia have become important trade partners with Taiwan. Taiwan will most certainly internationalized and liberalized in the twenty first century.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Chang, Pei Ling, "An Evolution of Taiwan's Economic Development in the 1990s" (1995). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 209.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/209