The Labour Market And Economic Development Of Taiwan

The debate on whether high standards of labour market legislation affect
economic growth and the rate of employment is topical and important. The
contributors to this book address three main issues:

• how Taiwan’s labour market was able to work so well prior to 1996,
maintaining full employment for the last 40 years, regardless of the rapid
change of industrial structure in the 1980s

• what factors can be attributed to the rapid deterioration of Taiwan’s labour market performance since 1996

• the measures adopted by the Taiwan government in tackling the recent
high unemployment rate, how effective these policies are and what lessons
scholars and public policy makers in other countries can learn from Taiwan’s experience.

An integrated labour market model (a revision of the Harris–Todaro dualistic labour market model) is presented which can be used to analyze labour market operation in other developing countries. The effectiveness of various policies adopted by the Taiwanese government in tackling high unemployment rates are examined and the findings shed light on public policies in other developing and newly industrialized countries.

The Labour Market and Economic Development of Taiwan will appeal to scholars of Asian studies, public policy, economic development and labour economists.

Contents:

Foreword

Preface

PART I: EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT IN A FLEXIBLE LABOUR
MARKET
1. Labour Market Flexibility and Employment: An Overview
Joseph S. Lee

2. Taiwan’s Changing Employment and Earnings Structure
Gary S. Fields

3. Education and Taiwan’s Changing Employment and Earnings Structure
Gary S. Fields and Amanda Newton Kraus

4. Taiwan’s Private Sector Labour Market Prior to 1996
Gary S. Fields

PART II: EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT IN A REGULATED AND
GLOBALIZED LABOUR MARKET
5. Cyclical Employment Changes in Taiwanese Industry
Christina Y. Liu, Wei-Chiao Huang and Chia-Wei Wang

6. Industrial Change and Structural Unemployment in Taiwan
Chung-Chi Wu

7. The Deterioration of Employment: Regional Unemployment Dynamics
Feng-Fuh Jiang and Paul K.C. Liu

8. The Role of Foreign Workers in Taiwan’s Economic Development
Joseph S. Lee

9. Involuntary Job Turnover in Taiwan, 1996–2000
Ji-Ping Lin

PART III: LABOUR MARKET POLICIES IN THE NEW KNOWLEDGE
ECONOMY
10. Employee Training Programmes and Sustainable Employability
Joseph S. Lee and Ping-Lung Hsin

11. Employment Insurance and Unemployment in Taiwan
Yang Shih

12. Evaluating Taiwan’s Public Service Employment Programme
Chao-Yin Lin and Mei Hsu

Index